This week saw the ever-active Seadrill, controlled by Norwegian shipping tycoon John Fredriksen, make a move to buy rival jack-up owner Scorpion Offshore, with a market capitalisation of about $550 million, while also picking up a distressed newbuild jack-up at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore for $350 million.

Rig brokers polled by Upstream were unsure whether Seadrill would be able to complete a full take-over of Scorpion for the Nkr36 ($6.16)