TotalEnergies Terminates Contract for Shelf Drilling’s Jack-Up Rig

(Credit: Shelf Drilling)

Offshore drilling firm Shelf Drilling has received a notice of contract termination from TotalEnergies EP Denmark for its Shelf Drilling Winner jack-up rig, operating offshore Denmark.

Under the notice and in accordance with the contract, the termination will be effective during August 2025.

The rig’s contract was originally scheduled to conclude in August 2026, subject to two additional options to extend further into late 2027, as part of the contract extension agreed by Shelf Drilling and TotalEnergies EP Denmark in July 2024.

However, following a thorough evaluation of the original schedule, TotalEnergies has informed that the rig will be released in summer 2025 after completion of the final scheduled well activities, due to changes in the 2025 work program.

To remind, Shelf Drilling Winner has been under contract with TotalEnergies since 2022.

The jack-up rig is of Friede & Goldman JU-3000N design, with the last upgrade done in 2014. It is capable of operating at water depths of 400 ft.

Shelf Drilling acquired the jack-up rig from Noble Corporation in 2022. At the time, Noble sold five jack-up drilling rigs to Shelf Drilling for $375 million, including Noble Sam Turner, which was later renamed to Shelf Drilling Winner.