Chevron Corp. has declared a force majeure on a Hercules Offshore jackup rig operating in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) — just one day after Apache Corp. declared a force majeure on a Rowan Cos Inc. jackup rig.

The force majeure on the Hercules 120, declared on June 23, came one day after Apache declared a force majeure on a jackup rig owned by Rowan.

Hercules officials said they are working with Chevron to resolve the issue but legal action may be considered if the negotiations are not resolved to their satisfaction. The Hercules 120 is earning a daily rate of $27,000-29,000, which was set to increase by $4,000 in July until the contract was completed at the end of the year.

Two other rigs that are owned by Hercules and operated by Chevron have not been subjected to a force majeure notice, Hercules noted.

Rowan received Apache’s notice on June 22 for the Cecil Provine rig, which is contracted at a dayrate of around $60,000.

According to Rowan, it is “evaluating” its response to Apache’s notice. It said it has two other contracted rigs awaiting permits and two are working but have not been cleared to work “beyond their current jobs because of restraints” on offshore drillers. Rowan said compliance with the regulatory regime could interrupt some offshore drilling operations.

A force majeure may relieve a producer from liability if “natural or unavoidable” catastrophes prevent it from fulfilling contractual obligations. Force majeures have been declared by several GOM deepwater operators since the federal moratorium, now in litigation, took effect (see Daily GPI, June 25).

According to the lawsuit filed by oil service providers that challenged the moratorium, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Cobalt International Energy have invoked force majeure clauses in their deepwater drilling contracts. As the drilling companies noted in the lawsuit, once they move rigs from the GOM “there is little chance for their immediate return at the end of the moratorium, as they will have made long-term commitments at their new locations in Brazil, Africa or the Middle East.”

Under the moratorium, shallow-water production was not been restricted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the former Minerals Management Service. However, new regulations put in place since April 20 require more permitting requirements. Among other things, offshore drillers have to certify they have proper blowout preventers that are working and that they have conducted at least two cement tests on the drilling operations.

“We are working with our customers to meet these requirements,” said Houston-based Rowan in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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