PetroRig sues Sembcorp Marine over rig contract

SINGAPORE, May 18 - PetroRig 1, a special purpose vehicle linked to Norwegian firm PetroMena <PMENA.OL>, has sued a unit of Singapore's Sembcorp Marine <SCMN.SI> for breach of contract over a $454 million rig order, court documents showed on Monday.

PetroRig 1, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, alleged that Sembcorp's Jurong Shipyard unit had made an "improper attempt to terminate the construction contract" for an ultra deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig and said Sembcorp subsequently tried to sell the rig at a below-market price.

The filing did not say how much damages PetroRig was seeking.

Sembcorp Marine, the world's second largest maker of offshore oil rigs, did not immediately comment on the matter.

In April, Sembcorp Marine said it had terminated a rig-building contract with PetroMena because the final payment had not been made and planned to sell the rig to recover money owed.