Daily Sabah – Turkey is close to adding a fourth vessel to expand its drilling fleet and speed up activities in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
The Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) is said to be very close to reaching an agreement for a deep-water drilling vessel that would arrive from Norway, reports said Tuesday.
It is said to be purchased from the Norwegian rig company Dolphin Drilling, according to Norwegian newspaper Finansavisen.
Delivered from South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2014, the drilling vessel was considered the crown jewel of the rig company, which was previously listed under the name Fred. Olsen Energy.
The price being negotiated has not been disclosed. VesselsValue is said to value the drilling vessel at $95 million (TL 673.49 million).
The figure is well below the price the company announced in November 2018 when it said it was in negotiations for the sale of the vessel for $340 million, according to the report.
The deal is said to be a part of the restructuring of the Dolphin Drilling, which started in the summer of 2019.
It is said that the vessel is being sold to cover some of the billions in debt to secured creditors Danske Bank, DNB, SEB, Swedbank and Strategic Value Partners (SVP).
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez last October said the country was exploring and analyzing options for leasing or acquiring a new drilling vessel.
“One of our vessels is in the Mediterranean. We have two ships in the Black Sea. We have said we may go in the direction of buying or leasing a third ship. Our friends are working (on the subject). We will prefer what is more economic for us,” Dönmez had said.
Turkey currently has three drillships in its fleet operating in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
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