Norway’s bevy of oilfield supplier had a terrific day on the stock market Thursday, the first day back from holiday riding a buoyant oil price and news Chinese and Norwegian orders for oilfield items was on-again.
Drilling contractor Seadrill led the pack, its shares rising in late-afternoon trading to as high as 14.83% on the back of solidifying finance, a relatively stable oil price and New Year’s contracts. Other rig outfits riding the news were Shelf Drilling (8.15%), Prosafe (6.11%), Northern Drilling (3.15%), Awilco (3.12%) and Borr Drilling (1.78%).
Seadrill ended the day slightly lower; Shelf Drilling slightly higher. Trading volumes in all were noteworthy, however, and appeared to lift rig supply outfit, Oceanteam, by over 12%.
Seadrill ended 2019 with a surge of contract awards, including work for Keppel-built cantilever jack-ups, AOD II and AOD III that’ll earn $98 million and $100 million offshore Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In Norway, a Vår Energi contract for West Phoenix signaled the start of Balder-area redevelopment, and the rig contractor expects to earn at least $302 million from the second-quarter of 2021 through to year-end 2023.
Borr Drilling was up for having refinanced its debt with a series of banks, as it works to extend options for the delivery of three newbuild rigs. One rig, the jack-up Hermod, was recently delivered from Keppel FELS in Singapore.
Prosafe, an accommodations rig operator, was up in investor favour for announcing it had appealed a Norwegian Competition Bureau ruling that thwarted a merger with competitor, Floatel. A similar process with the UK Competition and Markets Authority is in “Phase 2” the coming weeks offer news on the merger front.
Awilco, meanwhile, might have succeeded in finding work for its newbuild rigs, as its marketing was “progressing well” last we checked-in. The company has also been recruiting amid a “massive” job-seeker response and lower operating costs.