SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 (Reuters) - Switzerland-based Transocean Ltd said on Tuesday Gazprom had declared a force majeure on a Transocean rig in Libya due to Libya's recently announced embargo against Swiss companies.
The deepwater rig, named M.G. Hulme Jr, had been due to start an 11-month contract for Russia's Gazprom at a rate of $495,000 per day in July, although declaration of force majeure can lead to suspension of contracts due to circumstances beyond a company's control.
Transocean, which moved its domicile to Switzerland from the Cayman Islands for tax reasons in December 2008, said it received the force majeure notice from the Russian energy company on April 6.
'We have rejected the notice on the basis that the claim is premature and the embargo should not apply to our operations in Libya,' the world's largest offshore rig contractor said in a fleet status report issued on Tuesday. 'We are currently evaluating the situation and our rights under the contract.'
Libya slapped a trade embargo on Switzerland last month in an escalation of a dispute between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the European country over the 2008 arrest of Gaddafi's son in Geneva on charges -- later dropped -- of mistreating two domestic employees.
(Reporting by Braden Reddall; editing by Andre Grenon) Keywords: TRANSOCEAN/ (braden.reddall@thomsonreuters.com +1 415 677 2543; braden.reddall.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The deepwater rig, named M.G. Hulme Jr, had been due to start an 11-month contract for Russia's Gazprom at a rate of $495,000 per day in July, although declaration of force majeure can lead to suspension of contracts due to circumstances beyond a company's control.
Transocean, which moved its domicile to Switzerland from the Cayman Islands for tax reasons in December 2008, said it received the force majeure notice from the Russian energy company on April 6.
'We have rejected the notice on the basis that the claim is premature and the embargo should not apply to our operations in Libya,' the world's largest offshore rig contractor said in a fleet status report issued on Tuesday. 'We are currently evaluating the situation and our rights under the contract.'
Libya slapped a trade embargo on Switzerland last month in an escalation of a dispute between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the European country over the 2008 arrest of Gaddafi's son in Geneva on charges -- later dropped -- of mistreating two domestic employees.
(Reporting by Braden Reddall; editing by Andre Grenon) Keywords: TRANSOCEAN/ (braden.reddall@thomsonreuters.com +1 415 677 2543; braden.reddall.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.