Dong Ends Maersk Resolve contract
Monday 26 September 2016
Maersk Drilling has received a letter of early termination for its Maersk Resolve jack-up rig from fellow Danish player Dong Energy.
The rig has been under contract at Dong’s Hejre field in the Danish sector of the North Sea since 2013, and was scheduled to be contracted until January 2017.
However, planned work on the field was finalised months ahead schedule. Therefore, Dong ended its $58 million deal with Maersk and it will now have to compensate the drilling contractor.
The compensation for early termination will leave Maersk “financially neutral” to the original contract, it said.
"We are all acutely aware of the difficult market situation we are facing in the offshore drilling industry, however, it is gratifying to see a rig like the Maersk Resolve and her crew outperform expectations and complete her workscope several months ahead of schedule at Hejre,”said Maersk Drilling's head of global sales Michael Reimer Mortensen.
"The Maersk Resolve and her crew has delivered a great performance throughout the duration of the contract, and we aim to secure a new contract for the rig as soon as possible,” Mortensen said.
Earlier this year, Maersk Drilling had to make cuts to its workforce as its business took a hit from early termination contracts.
The company said it was aiming for 120 job cuts after the abrupt termination by ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil of a charter for the drillship Maersk Valiant in the Gulf of Mexico, and an additional 140 reductions in Norway due to a lack of work for two of its jack-ups, Maersk Gallant and Maersk Inspirer.