Paula Dittrick
OGJ Senior Staff Writer
HOUSTON, July 29 -- Rowan Cos. Inc. received a notice of declaration of force majeure on July 6 from Apache Corp. regarding Apache’s contract for Rowan’s Bob Palmer independent leg cantilever jack up, Rowan said in a report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In an 8-K form filed July 26 with the SEC, Rowan cited two notices to lessees (NTLs) implementing new safety regulations and information requirements on shallow-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Bob Palmer contract was for a job in 550 ft of water.
“These NTLs impact the ability of our customers to obtain new permits on a timely basis and continue operations uninterrupted under existing permits,” Rowan said. In the latest NTL, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement issued a June 8 notice about new safety regulations.
The changes followed the Apr. 20 blowout of the Macondo well, operated by BP PLC and drilled by Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 in the gulf. The blowout resulted in a rig explosion and fire that killed 11 people.
Rowan did not discuss finances in the SEC filing. More comment is likely to be made when Rowan releases its second-quarter results, scheduled for Aug. 3.
Separately, Baker Hughes Inc. confirmed that it relocated 300 workers from the gulf to assignments involving onshore US projects or international projects.
Chad C. Deaton, Baker Hughes chairman, president, and chief executive officer, discussed the staff reassignments in comment he made during a July 28 speech to an emergency energy technologies conference at Rice University. The conference was cosponsored by The Alliance of Energy Producers, the National Corrosion Center, and Rice.
Contact Paula Dittrick at paulad@ogjonline.com.
