Odfjell Drilling has closed the purchase of the harsh-environment semi-submersible rig Deepsea Bollsta and taken over its drilling contract with Equinor. The agreement keeps the rig on a firm charter until early 2028, with the option to add five separate one-year extensions.
The unit is being acquired from Northern Ocean. As it moves formally into the Odfjell Drilling fleet, the rig is scheduled to be renamed Deepsea Bergen, with the new name to take effect in 2026.
Deepsea Bollsta is a Moss CS60E-design semi-submersible built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea and delivered in 2019. Odfjell Drilling has already been responsible for operating the rig for around three years on the Norwegian continental shelf, giving the company established experience with the unit in harsh-environment drilling. This operating history is cited by the company as a factor that limits integration risk following the change of ownership.
The transaction is fully financed with debt and, according to Odfjell Drilling, has a positive impact on earnings from the outset. When the new rig is considered together with existing firm contracts for Deepsea Nordkapp and Deepsea Aberdeen, the company’s secured backlog rises by close to $1 billion compared with the level reported previously.
Alongside the acquisition, Odfjell Drilling has restructured its funding. The company has completed a wide-ranging refinancing package that secures long-term capital on improved terms and strengthens its overall capital structure. The package consists of $550 million in term loans and revolving credit facilities arranged with relationship banks, and a new $650 million rated bond with a tenor of 5.25 years and an issue date of 8 December 2025.
Chief executive officer Kjetil Gjersdal described bringing the rig that will carry the Deepsea Bergen name into the fleet as an important step for Odfjell Drilling, reinforcing its role in the harsh-environment segment. He noted that the added capacity and longer contract cover with Equinor and Aker BP support the company’s strategy of growth through accretive projects and stable earnings in its core market. Gjersdal also pointed to the legacy associated with the Deepsea Bergen name and thanked those involved in executing the transaction.
Chief financial officer Ørjan Lunde said the refinancing, put in place together with the acquisition, gives Odfjell Drilling a stronger financial platform. He highlighted better pricing, debt maturities that now extend to 2031, continued access to revolving credit lines to preserve flexibility, and a repayment profile that remains balanced. Lunde added that, on average, the rigs owned by Odfjell Drilling each have roughly two and a half years of contracted work at favourable day rates, leaving the company set to enter 2026 with solid visibility, resilienc,e and the capacity to deliver returns to stakeholders.
