Prosafe to Lay-Up More Accommodation Rigs

Safe Lancia. Photo: Prosafe SE

Semi-submersible accommodation vessel owner Prosafe is laying up two more rigs due to cuts by Mexican oil company Pemex, meaning that all five of Prosafe’s rigs working off Mexico will be out of operation.

Prosafe said Monday it was informed by its Mexican client Cotemar that Pemex has decided to suspend its contracts for the accommodation vessels Safe Regency and Safe Lancia beginning in mid-March 2016, at which point the rigs are likely to be demobilized to a suitable lay-up location.

Prosafe says suspensions are a result of Petróleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, cutting spending in order to adjust their budget to match an oil price of $25 per barrel.

Pemex has already suspended contracts for three Prosafe rigs; Safe Britannia, Jasminia and Safe Hibernia. The company says that Safe Britannia is currently being demobilized out of Mexico and is available for charter, while the Jasminia and the Safe Hibernia are being prepared for cold-stacking in the U.S.

Prosafe said it would continue to work proactively with Cotemar to address the challenges being faced in Mexico with hopes that it will be well placed to react when the market in Mexico recovers.

Worlwide, Prosafe is now expected to have ten out of 14 accommodation rigs idle, according to Reuters. 

Safe Lancia was originally contracted until the end of 2016 while Safe Regency was contracted until the end of 2017, Reuters reports.

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