Statoil Extends Drill Rig Suspension Over Lower Profitability
Norway-based Statoil decided to extend the suspension period of three rigs in the attempt to cut costs and cope with lower profitability. The company, which has already suspended more than a third of its exploration fleet over the last months, took the decision as it did not find alternative tasks for the three drilling rigs.
“Today the activity is facing lower margins, a generally high cost level and subsequent lower profitability. It is therefore more demanding to mature profitable drilling targets,” Statoil procurement head Jon Arnt Jacobsen said in a note released on Friday.
The company added the decision has to do with the overcapacity of rigs compared to the planned activities.
Statoil said that one rig would be suspended for a month, a second for one and a half months, while the third for more than seven months. The latter, COSL Pioneer, is a semi-submersible rig destined for both production and exploration drilling for the mid-water segment. Statoil commissioned the rig in December 2010.