ABS surveys and repairs on jackup Hercules 120 are now scheduled to be completed in mid-July, but the rig may not return to its contract with Chevron Corporation until early September or October. Chevron picked up the Hercules 201 as a substitute rig, and that contract will not be completed until early September if an outstanding 30-day option on the rig is not exercised. Hercules Offshore, Inc. says it will market the Hercules 120 to other operators during the gap should Chevron opt to not resume the contract in mid-July. The firm portion of the Hercules 120 contract does not end until December 31, but Chevron also has two, six-month priced options available should it choose to exercise them. Meanwhile, Rooster Petroleum, LLC will pick up jackup Hercules 150 for a 25-day well in Eugene Island Block 28 in mid-August. The rig will finish its current contract with Hilcorp Energy Company in late July, after which it has a 14-day shipyard stay scheduled. The new work now keeps the rig employed into the first week of September. Apache Corporation also has exercised an option to keep jackup Hercules 200 for an additional 60 days, with wells in West Cameron Block 165, High Island Block 46, and Eugene Island Block 42. The new term is scheduled to begin in early July after operations in West Cameron Block 354 are completed and stretches rig availability to early September. Stone Energy Corporation has opted to keep jackup Hercules 204 for a second well under its upcoming contract. Operations in Bay Marchand Block 2 are scheduled to begin in early September and will last for 20 days. The new well extends the available date of the rig to the latter half of September. Stone will take the rig to Ship Shoal Block 112 for 40 days first starting in late July. The rig recently began the final well of its contract with Pisces Energy in Ship Shoal Block 151. Jackup Hercules 214 has completed its contract with Castex Energy, Inc. in Eugene Island Block 224 and is now on location in West Cameron Block 71 for a 60-day program with Breton Energy, LLC.
Nabors Offshore Corporation workover jackup Dolphin 110 completed its three-well-plus-four-option contract with Energy Partners, Ltd. late last week and was released. The rig is now hot stacked at Nabors’ facility in New Iberia, Louisiana.
Spartan Offshore Drilling, LLC has put idle jackup Spartan 208 back to work. Badger Oil Corporation has taken the rig for a 20-day contract in High Island Block A-264. The rig had been idle since mid-April prior to receiving the work. Also, Century Exploration Company extended its contract to keep jackup Spartan 303 for another 60 days to September 1, with reports indicating the term may extend beyond that date. The rig is expected to remain in the Breton Sound area for the remainder of the contract.
Rowan has received a two-well extension from Apache Corporation for jackup Cecil Provine. The rig has completed operations in West Delta Block 70 and is now under tow to Ship Shoal Block 258 to begin the new term. Jackup Rowan Mississippi is now in Sabine Pass preparing for mobilization to Saudi Arabia for its three-year contract with Saudi Aramco. The rig wrapped up operations in South Marsh Island Block 234 last week for McMoRan Oil & Gas, LLC. Departure is expected within the next 30 days. Jackup Rowan EXL III is finally under tow to Grand Isle Block 23 for a four-well program with Energy XXI (Bermuda), Ltd. The rig had been on standby in Brazos Block A-23 after it completed the first well of its two-well contract with McMoRan. Work for Energy XXI will consist of three workovers and a drill well, after which it is understood the rig will go to South Marsh Island Block 230 to undertake completion operations in McMoRan’s Davy Jones field. Rowan has also received a 157-day extension from Pemex for jackup Rowan Gorilla IV effective from June 23. The new term was the maximum allowable by Pemex and now keeps the rig employed to late November. Jackup Rowan Gorilla III has about two weeks remaining on its contract in Main Pass Block 72 with Energy XXI, after which it will head to Sabine Pass to load equipment and depart for Trinidad and Tobago in early August. Rowan has an eight-well contract with a consortium of Niko Resources, Ltd. and Bayfield Energy with a one-year priced option available. The firm portion of the work should keep the rig occupied to August 2012.