Supply Vessel Hits Leg of a Jackup Rig at North Sea Oilfield

On Sunday night, an offshore supply vessel hit a jackup rig at a position in the UK North Sea, forcing the rig operator to partially evacuate as a precautionary measure. 

At about 2215 hours on Sunday night, a PSV hit one of the legs of the rig Valaris 120, located at a platform about 150 miles to the east of Aberdeen, Scotland. About 128 workers were aboard the rig at the time of the allision, and 52 nonessential personnel were flown off to Aberdeen by helicopter. The partial evacuation took three flights, lease operator Harbour Energy said in a statement. 

"People are our priority, and everyone onboard the rig and the vessel is safe and well," Harbour Energy said. "Our incident response teams have been mobilized and are in liaison with the relevant authorities."

Valaris 120 is a heavy duty harsh environment jackup built in 2013, and it was part of the former Ensco fleet. It has a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 feet and can operate in up to 470 feet of water. At the time of the casualty, the jackup was in elevated position near Harbour Energy's Judy platform, a small manned production installation with output of about 34,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Its lifetime is being extended through subsea tieback developments to nearby prospects, including the Talbot field and the Jocelyn South exploration well. Harbour also planned for two infill wells at the Judy field and a rig-based well intervention campaign during 2024. 

Valaris 120 recently secured a three-year contract extension with Harbour Energy, running from 2025 through 2028. The day rate was not disclosed.