Rig company Prosafe (PRS.OS) Monday said its second-quarter rig utilization rate was 86%, up from 76.6% in the first quarter.

The MSV Regalia was at the Keppel Verolme yard in Rotterdam for the whole quarter undergoing a major refurbishment but has now started operation for BP (BP.LN) at the Valhall field.

During the quarter, Safe Concordia started operation for Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico. Safe Scandinavia operated for BP at Valhall until June 9, but is currently on a six- to seven-week outage for a five week-yard stay and mobilization before commencing a 65-day contract for Shell (RDSA) in the U.K. North Sea towards the end of this month.

Safe Astoria is in layup at the Kemaman yard in Malaysia, and is due to start a new contract in early November. All other rigs were fully utilized during the second quarter, Prosafe said.

The company has 12 units.

At 0822 GMT, Prosafe traded up NOK0.55, or 1.9%, at NOK29.33, beating the 0.59% decline on Oslo's OBX index.

Company Web site: www.prosafe.com

-By Elizabeth Adams, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9286; elizabeth.adams@dowjones.com