Northern Drilling refuses to hand over the “West Libra” – and at the same time warns against claims against annihilation in the amount of NOK 760 million.
Billionaire John Frederiksen has many bets in the drilling segment, and is now in Northern Drilling, Northern Ocean and Seadrill.
North Drilling, dominated by John Frederiksen, has since 2018 placed orders for two ultra-deepwater drilling ships from South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
After a series of postponements, The company announced on Saturday evening that it does not want to take delivery of one of its “West Libra” ones..
The delivery of its second drill ship, West Aquila, canceled NDC again in August.
The rig company is claiming a refund of the $90 million, or about 760 million kroner, which was prepaid to the yard — in addition to other potential benefits and costs, apparently. A similar claim has been made in connection with the cancellation of West Aquila.
The combined price of the two drilling vessels was NOK 4.8 billion based on the exchange rate in 2018.
In 2019, Northern Drilling separated its rough water semi-submersible rigs into a new company called Northern Ocean. So there are previously no drilling rigs other than those that were under the system and therefore no income. The potential delivery of drill ships and the consequent additional payments in the heavy rig market can be difficult to deal with.
The Northern Drilling Company reported Saturday that Arena has begun the arbitration process following the first cancellation.
Northern Drilling’s stock closed on Friday at NOK 13.24. The market capitalization is NOK 214 million after a decline of 80 percent since 2018, when the price was close to NOK 80.
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