Awilco Drilling to sell WilPhoenix drilling rig to Well-Safe Solutions

Awilco Drilling said that its wholly-owned subsidiary Awilco Drilling Offshore (UK) will sell the WilPhoenix drilling rig to Well-Safe Solutions, a well decommissioning specialist, for $15.5 million.

In this connection, the parties have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA).

The anticipated time of delivery of the drilling rig is on or around 1 June 2022.

Built in 1983, the WilPhoenix drilling rig is one of the two Enhanced Pacesetter semi-submersible rigs of Awilco Drilling. It has been designed to undertake drilling in water depths up to 1,200 ft.

WilHunter, which is the other semi-submersible rig of the North Sea drilling contractor, is in the process of being divested for recycling.

Well-Safe Solutions said that it will undertake optimization and meet recertification requirements of the WilPhoenix drilling rig for well plug and abandonment (P&A) activity in the future.

The acquisition of the semi-submersible rig is estimated to generate nearly 100 jobs in a range of onshore and offshore roles, along with the 231 personnel employed already by Well-Safe Solutions. The other assets of Well-Safe Solutions are the Well-Safe Guardian semi-submersible rig and Well-Safe Protector jack-up rig.

Phil Milton — Well-Safe Solutions CEO said: “The addition of our second semi-submersible rig, to be known as the Well-Safe Defender, is a landmark achievement for the business.

“Strong demand for our other dedicated P&A semi-submersible rig, the Well-Safe Guardian, demonstrates a clear business case for the need for further specialized assets. We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Awilco Drilling to integrate this well-regarded asset into our portfolio.

“The addition of a third specialist decommissioning rig enables Well-Safe Solutions to deliver upon our vision of being the industry’s trusted well decommissioning service partner of choice, and is in line with the company’s long-term growth strategy.”