Blackford Dolphin for Oil India
At last - an end to the uncertainty over whether Oil India will accept Dolphin Drilling's replacement rig.
Oslo-based Dolphin Drilling announced on March 15 (2024) that it had secured a $154m Oil India drilling contract for its semisubmersible Blackford Dolphin. The Norwegian rig contractor referred to its October 19 (2023) LoA from Oil India hiring semisubmersible Borgland Dolphin, which it later hired to UK-based EnQuest on November 28 (2023) on much more lucrative terms, potentially jeopardising Oil India's drilling programme.
"Under the final agreement," says Dolphin's March 15 announcement, "Dolphin will deploy Blackford Dolphin to support Oil India's exploration and development activities with operations planned to commence in the second half of 2024." Oil India has a firm programme to drill three wells at OALP-2 blocks AN-OSHP-2018/1 and AN-OSHP-2018/2 offshore the Andaman Islands, plus one optional well, depending on the results of the firm wells.
Also planned is one well at OALP-3 block KK-OSHP-2018/1 in the Kerala-Konkan offshore. Oil India wants the rig mobilised before June or July this year (2024) because the one-year Covid-related block extensions expire in August 2024.
Dolphin's contract with Oil India is 14 months to drill three wells plus an optional seven months. But a question mark still hangs over how Oil India allowed Dolphin to replace Borgland Dolphin with Blackford Dolphin.
However, a well-placed source argues Oil India has the right to substitute the rig named in the LoA with another similar or better rig if the first rig is unavailable, provided this is done before the Notice of Mobilisation to the driller. "Tendering took almost 18 months," he stresses.
"Is it logical to expect Oil India to scrap the LoA and issue a tender, which could take another 18 months?" We are told that Dolphin informed Oil India, before receiving a Notice of Mobilisation, that Borgland Dolphin would be unavailable. "Oil India checked the rig that Dolphin was offering as a replacement and was satisfied," we hear.