Dolphin Drilling’s 1977-built rig gets hold of new multi-year gig

Dolphin Drilling, an Oslo-listed, Aberdeen-headquartered owner and operator of a fleet of harsh environment mid-water and deepwater semi-submersible drilling rigs, has won a potential long-term job with an undisclosed oil and gas player for one of its semi-submersible rigs.

Dolphin Drilling has signed a letter of intent (LoI) for the Borgland Dolphin rig with an unnamed company. The potential contract, which is expected to have a value of approximately $230 million, is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027.

This will be in direct continuation following the release of the rig from an existing contract with Repsol. The firm term runs through the expiry of the rig’s current special period survey (SPS) in October 2031, inclusive of mobilization and demobilization, with expected options for five more years.

According to Dolphin Drilling, the parties intend to continue negotiation of the contract pursuant to the letter of intent, which includes a termination fee of up to $3.8 million in favour of the company and is subject to agreement and respective management approvals.

With a weight of 18,000 tons, a length of 109 meters, and a beam of 67 meters supported by 12 sturdy pillars, the Borgland Dolphin rig was built in 1977 by Harland & Wolff.

The semi-submersible received major upgrades in 1998/1999. With a maximum drilling depth of 27,800 feet, the rig can undertake operations in water depths of 1,476 feet.

This LoI comes days after Dolphin Drilling inked a letter of intent for a potential new contract for the Paul B. Loyd Jr. rig.