Dolfines provides third-party verification and due diligence services for Operators and Contractors looking to select, evaluate, commission or assess drilling rigs.
Non-productive time is the largest controllable cost on a drilling programme. Equipment failures, missing certification and unclosed punch items all surface as rig days you still pay for.
A pre-mobilization inspection typically costs a fraction of a single day's spread rate. Finding one failure before SPUD is usually enough to return the whole cost of the audit.
rigs audited since 2010: jack-ups, semi-subs, drillships, land rigs and workover units
100,000+
Deficiency database
OPERATING GEOGRAPHIES
We operate worldwide
Inspectors mobilise from three regional bases to onshore and offshore units across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Paris
Group headquarters. Engineering, project management and technical authority.
Abu Dhabi
Middle East operations. Gulf, Iraq and wider MENA inspection assignments.
Rio de Janeiro
Latin America operations. Brazilian pre-salt and regional drilling markets.
THEY TRUST US
Our clients
Need a rig inspection quote?
Tell us the unit and the scope. An inspection lead responds within one working day.
Rig acceptance & pre-hire inspection for operators
Know what you are accepting & prove it
You are contracting a unit and a crew you did not build or train. Dolfines verifies both against your acceptance criteria and the applicable API standards, and documents the result so it stands up later.
ACROSS THE RIG LIFECYCLE
Where we come in
We can support you in any stage of your drilling operations from tendering to decommissioning.
Rig selection
Tender and pre-hire evaluation
Technical evaluation of candidate units and contractors during tender, so the award rests on verified condition and capability rather than a submitted spec sheet. Pre-hire inspection establishes the real state of the asset before you commit and puts remedial obligations in writing.
Commissioning
New Build, Reactivation and Maintenance Commissioning
Witnessing and verification of commissioning activities for new-builds, reactivation programs, major maintenance / upgrade activities.
Mobilization
Rig acceptance inspection
The formal acceptance of a drilling rig at mobilization through an holistic audit. We verify equipment integrity, management system reliability, and crew competency.
Pre-SPUD
Readiness verification before you drill
Final check that punch items are closed, well control equipment is certified and tested, and the crew is in place with valid competencies, before the first rig day is spent.
During the campaign
Contractor audit and NPT investigation
Audit of the drilling contractor's maintenance and HSE systems, plus root-cause work on recurring downtime, so the same failure does not reappear later in the programme.
Send the unit and the target mobilization date. We revert with a scope proposal and a mobilisation window.
Rig readiness audit for drilling contractors
Prove the unit is ready
When you are marketing a unit, defending a tender or facing a client audit, an independent attestation carries further than your own paperwork. Dolfines also brings equipment specialists your own team may not hold in-house.
OUR SERVICES
What we deliver for contractors
An independent API Q2 certified third-party readiness attestation
An independent statement of condition and readiness you can put in front of prospective clients during tender. It shortens their due diligence, reduces the number of open questions in negotiation, and differentiates the unit from a competitor offering only its own records.
Specialised equipment expertise
Deep-dive assessment of BOP and well control equipment, hoisting and rotating systems, top drive, mud and solids control, power generation and cranes, by specialists in each discipline.
Personnel competency assessment
Structured evaluation of crew competency against role requirements and IADC guidance, identifying gaps that would surface in a client audit or an incident investigation.
Maintenance system audit
Preventive maintenance system audit: records discipline, planning quality, critical equipment coverage, spares availability and whether the system actually reflects work done on the unit.
HSE system audit
Safety management system, permit-to-work, emergency response and drill records, assessed against client and regulatory expectations before someone else assesses them for you.
Offshore and onshore, from shallow-water jack-ups to deepwater drillships. Scopes are adapted to the unit, its class regime and its operating environment.
Jack-up
Shallow-water self-elevating units. Leg and spudcan condition, jacking systems, cantilever and preload verification.
Drillship
Deepwater dynamically positioned units. DP redundancy, riser and subsea systems, marine and drilling interfaces.
Semi-submersible
Column-stabilised units. Ballast and stability systems, mooring or DP, structural and marine systems condition.
Land rig
Onshore units including fast-moving and desert packages. Mast and substructure, rig-up integrity, camp and utilities.
Workover rigs, hydraulic workover and coiled tubing units, plus geothermal drilling packages.
Third-party equipment
Cementing units, wireline units, well testing packages and fracking units.
Swamp barge
Posted barge units for inland waters, swamps and shallow transition zones. Hull and ballast integrity, stability, drilling package and marine systems.
Get a rig audit quote
Send the asset type and the scope you need. We revert with a scope proposal and a mobilisation window.
Standards-based rig inspection methodology
Standards-based, ROI-driven
Two things decide whether an inspection was worth commissioning: whether the findings are anchored in a recognised standard, and whether they removed rig days from your programme.
1,350+
rigs audited since 2010
Dolfines is a specialist consultancy in oil and gas drilling operations.
We support operators and contractors across the full project lifecycle: rig audits and inspections, drilling engineering, project management consultancy and equipment recertification.
With 1,350+ rigs audited since 2010 across four continents, and as the first European company certified to API Q2, we deliver the independent expertise that reduces risk, protects drilling programmes and drives operational performance.
API Q2 certified4 continents
KEY DISTINCTION
Rig acceptance is not the same as rig inspection
Knowing which one you actually need avoids paying for the wrong service, or worse, relying on the wrong one in a dispute.
Rig acceptance
A formal contractual verification triggered at mobilization or contract start, with legal implications and an operator-driven mandate.
TriggerMobilization or contract start
MandateOperator-driven, contractual
OutputAcceptance position or punch list with legal weight
Rig inspection
A technical condition assessment that can occur at any time and serve multiple stakeholders, including insurers and financial buyers.
TriggerAny time in the asset lifecycle
MandateOwner, insurer, buyer or operator
OutputTechnical condition report
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
The economics of NPT reduction
Non-productive time is the largest controllable cost line on a drilling programme, and most of it is traceable to conditions that are visible before the rig starts working: unserviceable equipment, incomplete maintenance history, expired certification, punch items never closed out.
−30 %
average NPT reduction where structured pre-spud inspections and intake surveys are carried out
1 350+
rigs audited since 2010 across four continents, giving us the failure patterns to look for
8–12
scored gap categories in a PMS audit, benchmarked against OEM, class and IADC references
How the payback works
01
Establish the spread rate: the full daily cost of the rig, services and support.
02
Count the findings that would have caused downtime, and the days each would have cost.
03
Compare avoided days against the inspection fee and the cost of remediation onshore.
04
Repairs done before mobilization cost a fraction of the same repair done offshore, mid-campaign.
Use the savings calculator to size this against your own day rate and campaign length.
STANDARDS
Anchored in API requirements
Our inspectors work daily with the API specifications and recommended practices that govern drilling equipment, and every checklist line in our scopes traces back to a specific requirement.
That traceability is what turns an observation into a finding. A client, a regulator or a contractor can see which clause the deviation sits against, what the required condition is, and what closing it involves. It also removes the argument about whether a finding is a matter of opinion.
Dolfines is API Q2 certified and operates an ISO 9001 quality system, so the methodology itself is audited, not just the rigs we inspect.
API Q2
Quality management for service supply to the upstream industry
API 53
Blowout prevention equipment systems for drilling wells
API 4F
Drilling and well servicing structures: masts, derricks, substructures
API 8C
Drilling and production hoisting equipment
API 7K
Drilling and well servicing equipment
API RP 54
Occupational safety for oil and gas well drilling operations
API RP 75
Safety and environmental management for offshore operations
IADC & class
IADC guidance and classification society rules, per unit and flag
OPERATIONS CYCLE
We audit and validate throughout the rig lifecycle
Equipment failures mid-campaign are catastrophic. The only way to prevent them is rigorous, independent verification at every critical stage, before they happen.
01Construction
QA / QC oversight
During fabrication and assembly, including factory acceptance testing.
02Rig tender
Selection survey
Rig fitness assessed against your contract requirements, before award.
03Contract award
Condition survey
A documented technical baseline at contract start.
04Pre-SPUD
Rig intake & commissioning
Verification before the first well, with punch items closed onshore rather than at spread rate.
Highest return · −30% NPT
05At SPUD
Acceptance testing
Full operational readiness of the unit and its crew, confirmed.
06Operations
Periodic condition surveys
During active drilling, to catch maintenance drift before it becomes downtime.
The further right you intervene, the more a finding costs to close. A defect caught during commissioning is a yard job; the same defect found at SPUD is a rig day.
HOW WE WORK
The steps towards excellence
01Diagnosis
Visual and technical inspection of the unit and its systems
Assessment against applicable API, IADC, class and regulatory requirements
Identification of structural, mechanical, electrical and HSE risk
02Recommendations
Findings ranked by operational and safety consequence
Each finding referenced to the standard clause it deviates from
Action plan to close non-conformities before they become downtime
03Close-out
Assistance with implementation of corrective actions
Verification that measures taken are effective, not just recorded
Training and awareness for the operational teams involved
Want the ROI model for your programme?
Send your spread rate and campaign length. We will size the avoided NPT case against a defined inspection scope.
Rig NPT savings calculator
How much would you save?
Four questions. The model applies the −30% average NPT reduction Dolfines measures on structured pre-spud inspection and intake surveys to your own day rate and campaign length.
HOW IT WORKS
Model your NPT savings in four steps
Tell us who you are, select your rig type and the stage of your programme, then adjust the day rate, campaign length and expected NPT to match your project. The estimate on the right updates as you go and shows the rig days and cost an inspection could recover, along with the intervention we recommend for your stage.
01
Are you an operator or a contractor?
02
What type of unit are you operating?
03
Where are you in the operations cycle?
04
Your numbers
YOUR ESTIMATED SAVING
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avoided cost on this campaign, from removing 30% of your non-productive time
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Recommended scope
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Indicative model only, based on the −30% average NPT reduction measured across Dolfines rig audit engagements. Not a commercial offer.
Want this modelled properly?
Send us your actual NPT breakdown and we will size the avoided-days case against a defined inspection scope.
TRACK RECORD
Rig inspection track record
Selected assignments delivered for international and national oil companies. Client names withheld under confidentiality; references available on request.
No published case matches this combination.
Oil & Gas, North AfricaOil and gas operator2026
HSE and technical competency assessment of a drilling crew
Requirement
Verify that the drilling contractor’s crew was trained on HSE and technical topics, with more than 90% of interviewees not speaking English and a rig move under way.
Action
Structured interviews of all senior site management with an English-Arabic interpreter, led by a dedicated assessor supported by two technical inspectors.
Result
20 assessments completed in 5 days with no impact on the rig move or operations, and a consolidated report on strengths and areas for improvement.
20assessments5days on site
Oil & Gas, KuwaitDrilling contractor2025
Rig inspection of 5 land drilling rigs
Requirement
Third-party independent inspection of five land drilling rigs to confirm their operational suitability and readiness.
Action
A mechanical and an electrical inspector audited each rig individually over seven days, with the same team assigned to the entire project.
Result
Daily reports, a final report and a non-conformity list, delivered immediately after each inspection.
5land rigs7days per rig70man-days
Oil & Gas, UAEEnergy operator2025
PMS & HSE audit on offshore assets
Requirement
Identify the root causes of non-productive time on offshore drilling facilities and assess preventive maintenance and HSE standards.
Action
Document reviews, then preventive maintenance audits on nine rigs and HSE audits on eleven rigs, with interviews of rig management and maintenance staff.
Result
120+ man-days over three months. Root causes of NPT identified, with actionable recommendations to optimise preventive maintenance and strengthen HSE practices.
9rigs PMS audits11rigs HSE audits115man-days
Oil & Gas, North AfricaEuropean oil and gas company2025
Slickline unit inspection onshore and offshore
Requirement
Inspect the slickline units used for well maintenance and intervention under a frame agreement, with demanding onshore logistics.
Action
Two mechanical and operations inspectors checked 2 onshore and 2 offshore units against inspection checklists and relevant standards.
Result
4 units inspected in two weeks across onshore and offshore sites. Several further projects awarded under the framework agreement.
4units inspected2inspectors28man-days
Oil & Gas, BrazilDrilling contractor2025
Minimum operational staffing offshore
Requirement
Determine the minimum staffing for safe and reliable offshore drilling, following the ANP technical note on Human Factors Engineering.
Action
Onboard time tracking of safety-critical tasks by role across six drillships, with the drilling, maintenance, marine and safety teams.
Result
Consolidated task times by role and full-time equivalents delivered to define minimum manning.
6drillships
Geothermal, FranceDrilling contractor2024
Land drilling rig inspection for a geothermal project
Requirement
Give the client an independent third-party opinion that the selected rig was fit to drill geothermal wells on a sensitive site in the Paris region.
Action
An electrical specialist and a drilling and HSE specialist reviewed certificates, inspected equipment and structure, and ran function tests against API standards.
Result
Inspection completed in 5 days, with no delay ahead of drilling, for a repeat client.
5days on rig10man-days
Energy, EuropeMarine works contractor2025–2026
HSE supervision for subsea interconnector cable landing
Requirement
Provide HSE support for the most sensitive phase of a cross-border subsea electricity interconnector: preparatory clearance, then cable pull-in from sea to shore, across several sites.
Action
HSE Managers at the interface with the main contractor and project owner, and HSE Supervisors running daily inspections, external audits, toolbox talks and safety inductions, onshore and offshore.
Result
HSE coverage provided throughout the most critical phase of the works, from preparatory clearing to sea-to-shore cable pull.
5HSE consultants2countries, France and Spain
Oil & GasMajor IOC
Rig audit for a major field development
Requirement
Audit and inspection of rigs for the development of a major producing field.
Action
In-depth technical inspections of drilling facilities against API and client criteria.
Result
Improved operational safety and enhanced compliance with international standards.
Oil & Gas, Middle EastNational oil company
Drone-assisted offshore inspection
Requirement
Technical inspection of offshore drilling facilities.
Action
Use of drones for visual and thermographic inspection of hard-to-reach areas.
Result
Reduced exposure on hard-to-reach areas and improved inspection efficiency.
Oil & Gas, Southern AfricaInternational oil major
Lateral riser retention system for deepwater drilling
Requirement
Drill a deepwater exploration well in strong currents, with a risk of the riser clashing with the drilling unit, within a short drilling window.
Action
FEED and detailed engineering, procurement of long lead items, manufacturing surveillance with a certification body, offshore delivery and commissioning.
Result
System designed, manufactured, delivered and commissioned, and operational for the drilling campaign in 1,400 m of water.
1,400 mwater depth2,800man-days
Oil & Gas, Southeast AsiaOil company & shipyard consortium2008–2010
Offshore platform rig engineering for a gas field development
Requirement
Design the drilling rig of an integrated jacket platform combining drilling, production and living quarters for an offshore gas field.
Action
Basic and detailed engineering of a 3,000 HP platform rig, FEED carried out jointly with the topside engineer, team embedded with the partner and support at the construction yard.
Result
Topside fabricated and installed on the jacket in 2012. First gas produced in 2013.
10,000engineering man-days3,000 HPplatform rig200beds living quarters
Oil & Gas, Central AsiaInternational oil consortium
Drilling concept selection for an offshore field development
Requirement
Design and compare drilling facility concepts for a fully offshore development on an artificial island combining drilling and production.
Action
Artificial island, steel gravity-based structure and combined options studied, Tender Assisted Drilling assessed, rig requirements and interfaces defined for each option.
Result
Drilling concepts compared on a common basis, with rig requirements and interfaces with production, logistics and construction analysed.
5,150engineering man-days3+drilling concepts
Oil & Gas, Central AfricaOil operator
Self-elevating structure for a slant drilling rig with BOP
Requirement
Raise a 35° slant rig originally designed for water wells by 3.7 m so that 11" or 7" BOP stacks could be fitted to drill deeper wells.
Action
Basic and detailed engineering of a self-elevating structure lifting the drilling truck by 3.7 m, with space for the BOP stacks.
Result
Structure in service for the client’s drilling operations. BOP stacks can now be installed on a rig originally designed without one.
3.7 mtruck lift35°slant angle400man-days
Oil & Gas, East AfricaInternational oil major
Onshore drilling pad optimisation for a walking rig
Requirement
Minimise civil works for well cellars and walking rig support areas across many drilling sites, in an equatorial climate.
Action
Christmas tree arrangements and cellar connections, cellar design and access, pad patterns and site layout with a walking rig, drainage sizing.
Result
Findings used by the client to define the rig and the drilling site construction specifications.
70study man-days
DecommissioningIndependent operator
Plug and abandonment working platform
Requirement
Decommission the wells and dismantle the topside in a single jack-up mobilisation.
Action
Design of a lighter, removable working platform replacing the original cantilever, with a 17 × 12 m skidding envelope and 120 t maximum hook load.
Result
Complete design from concept to manufacturing follow-up, including installation, operation and maintenance procedures.
Oilfield services, Europe & AfricaOilfield services major
Safety training technical assistance
Requirement
Implement the health and safety training programme across the European and African geo-market following rapid workforce growth.
Action
Safety training professionals integrated into the organisation: train-the-trainer, new employee safety training, defensive driving, injury prevention, first aid and fire fighting.
Result
Over 30,000 hours of training provided to over 10,000 employees in more than 25 countries over a 10-year period.
Request our reference list
Named references and sample report extracts are shared on request, subject to client confidentiality.
CONTACT
Talk to our rig inspection experts
Ask a question to our experts
A few details is all we need to route your enquiry to the right inspection lead. Response within one working day.
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An inspection lead will reply by email within one working day.
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Our offices
GROUP HEADQUARTERS
Paris, France
Engineering, project management and technical authority for the group.
89-91 boulevard National92250 La Garenne-ColombesFrance
MIDDLE EAST
Abu Dhabi
Dolfines Gulf Consultancy, United Arab Emirates. Gulf, Iraq and wider MENA assignments.
Office 302, 3rd Floor, Sama TowerAbu Al Bukhoush StreetSector E4-1, Plot C7Al Danah, Abu Dhabi 22215United Arab Emirates
LATIN AMERICA
Rio de Janeiro
Dolfines LATAM, Brazil. Pre-salt and regional drilling markets.
Avenida Churchill, 109, Sala 703, CentroCEP 20020-050Rio de Janeiro, RJBrazil
LEGAL
Personal data
Confidentiality and personal data protection policy for riginspection.io.
Dolfines SA and its subsidiaries, including Dolfines Gulf Consultancy and Dolfines LATAM, undertake to respect and protect your personal information.
riginspection.io is the rig inspection and audit service website of Dolfines. When you contact us through this site, or when we prepare and deliver an inspection assignment, we may collect information that is considered personal within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation.
Through the contact and quote forms, this mainly includes your work email address, company, position, whether you are an operator or a drilling contractor, your phone number when you request a call back, and the description of your need. In the course of an assignment, it may also include the names, professional certificates and qualifications of the personnel met on site and the findings of competency assessments. What counts as personal data
Our commitments
To respect your personal information, we apply the following principles:
No trading or arbitrary distribution of your personal data.
Collection limited to what is needed to answer your enquiry and deliver the inspection.
Dematerialisation, to limit and control the circulation of paper documents such as checklists and inspection records.
Prior communication of this policy to all employees and to the client companies where our inspectors operate.
A confidentiality agreement signed between Dolfines and every inspector and consultant working on its behalf.
Storage of client and assignment data in a secure space.
Storage of this data for a period not exceeding 3 years, after which it is destroyed.
Taking into account your right to have your data deleted.
We also protect your personal information from being damaged, deleted or accessed by unauthorised third parties, through secure access to our premises and computer access secured by passwords and anti-virus software.
What do we use your personal data for?
Data sent through this website is used to answer your question or call you back, to route your enquiry to the right inspection lead, and to prepare a scope proposal and quote.
When an assignment goes ahead, your data is used to draw up the service contract, organise the mobilisation of inspectors, carry out the inspection or audit, issue the report and, where required, provide proof of compliance with a requirement during an audit.
To whom do we transmit your personal data?
Your data is only shared within the Dolfines group, with the regional base handling your enquiry (Abu Dhabi, Rio de Janeiro or Paris) and the inspectors assigned to your project. It is never sold or passed on to third parties for commercial purposes.
Your rights
In accordance with the amended French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978 and European Regulation No. 2016/679/EU of 27 April 2016, you have the right to access, rectify, transfer and delete your data, or to limit its processing. You may also, for legitimate reasons, object to the processing of your personal data.
Subject to the production of valid proof of identity, you can exercise these rights by contacting qualite@dolfines.com. For any further information or to make a complaint, you can contact the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (www.cnil.fr).
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