MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) — The transaction between Rosneft, North Atlantic Drilling Limited (NADL) and Seadrill has been delayed and will be announced in May 2015, NADL said in a statement published on its official website.
"NADL, Seadrill and Rosneft have mutually agreed to delay the announced transaction until the end of May 2015. The break rights under the transaction have also been extended to the end of May 2015. Both parties remain committed to the transaction", NADL said Friday.
On July 30, NADL announced that 6 binding offshore contracts had been executed with Rosneft with the potential total revenue amounting to approximately $4.25 billion.
On August 22, NADL announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase a portion of Rosneft's land drilling fleet in Russia. About 150 rigs were set to be acquired. The transaction was expected to be closed by the end of 2014. It was also stated that Rosneft was to receive about 30% stake in NADL.
The last round of the US sanctions against Russia imposed on September 12 could be the reason for the transaction's delay, as NADL and Seadrill Limited are listed on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). The sanctions prohibit to sell shelf oil extraction technology to Rosneft.
The United States have imposed several waves of economic sanctions on Russia over its alleged meddling in the Ukrainian conflict. The two most recent waves of sanctions particularly targeted the country's energy sector, prohibiting the export of goods, services and technologies for deepwater, Arctic and shale oil exploration to Russia.
NADL is a drilling company working in the North Atlantic region. The Company has eight drilling units in the fleet. Seadrill Limited owns 70% of the company's shares. Following the transaction Seadrill Limited will continue to own more than 50% of NADL.
