Due to overcapacity in Statoil’s rig portfolio, the company said it will lay up the COSL Pioneer rig in fourth-quarter 2014.

The rig is currently carrying out an assignment on the Visund Field and is scheduled to complete this work at the end of September, Statoil said in the news release.

In the beginning of July Statoil also announced that the drilling rig Scarabeo 5 will be temporarily suspended. Scarabeo 5 will be taken out of operations at the end of September for the rest of the year.

The COSL Pioneer is contracted until 2016 and will be used for drilling and completion of production wells on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The rig is being taken out of operation for a shorter period and will have no impact on Statoil’s production targets or planned exploration activity on the Norwegian shelf, Statoil said. The company will still be drilling 20 to 25 exploration wells on the NCS in 2014.