Northern Ocean rig gets more work in Norway

Northern Ocean, a semisub rig spin-off of Northern Drilling, has won a contract in Norway for its Deepsea Bollsta rig with an undisclosed client.

The contract is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2025, immediately after the rig has mobilised for operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The contract has an estimated firm duration of 54 to 99 days. The rig will complete the deal in advance of a contract with Equinor won last month.

This adds between $23m and $42m to the firm backlog and will increase the company’s firm backlog to $488m or $507m, depending on the length of the latest deal.

Northern Ocean stated that it does not plan any further equity raises in connection with the mobilisation of the rig to Norway. The company does have a plan in place to refinance its current debt falling due in June 2026 when it sees a good balance between terms and conditions versus order backlog.

“This is the third contract in as many months and adds to the drilling program in Norway, with a well-reputed client. In addition to increasing the backlog, this contract contributes to removing potential idle time for the rig in advance of the Equinor contract,” said Arne Jacobsen, Norther Ocean CEO.

With the Deepsea Bollsta now fixed on contracts until the end of 2027, excluding options, the company will focus all marketing efforts on increasing the order backlog for the Deepsea Mira.