Norwegian drilling contractor Seadrill has ordered two further rigs from the Far East at an estimated cost of $400million, plus it has options for a further four that could take the bill to $1.2billion.
This latest contract is for the construction of jack-up units at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore.
The first two are scheduled for delivery in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 respectively. The $400million price tag includes project management, drilling and handling tools, spares and “capitalised interest”.
Bermuda-registered Seadrill says the newbuilds represent the latest generation, high-specification jack-up drilling rigs with greater capacities and capabilities than current conventional units.
They are to be based on the Friede & Goldman JU2000E design, and are suitable for operations worldwide, including the southern North Sea.
The units have the capability to operate in water depths to 122m (400ft) and drill to depths of 9,144m (30,000ft) and offer improved drilling efficiencies with off-line pipe handling, simultaneous operations support and increased accommodation capacity.
The initial pair will be the sixth and seventh rig orders that Seadrill has placed with Jurong of which two are at present under construction.
Alf Thorkildsen, CEO at Seadrill, said of the order: “These newbuilds are an important supplement that complements our present jack-up fleet.
“The orders position us for additional growth in an increasingly important market segment that can provide further opportunities and earnings growth for Seadrill.
“Including the recent acquisition of Scorpion, the company’s fleet of jack-ups constitutes the world’s largest modern jack-up fleet with 16 units built after 2006. The acquisition further strengthens our position as the leading operator of modern, high-quality drilling units.”
Meanwhile, Transocean’s latest addition to its fleet of deepwater drillships, Deepwater Champion, has been hired for by ExxonMobil at a record dayrate of $703,000 for work in the Black Sea.
The world’s largest drilling contractor said the ship will start operations during Q1 of 2011.
Its first assignment will be to drill for ExxonMobil on the Samsun block AR/TPO/3922 in the deepwater sector of the Turkish Black Sea, where the super-major is currently explorating in joint venture with the Turkish national oil company Turkiye Petrollelri Anonim Ortakligi (TPAO).
Following the Black Sea assignment, the Deepwater Champion will mobilise to the US Gulf of Mexico or to offshore Brazil, again working for ExxonMobil, but at a lower dayrate of $640,000 to $650,000. These would still be among the highest rates yet earned by a Transocean rig.
Deepwater Champion will when completed be capable of working in water depths to 3,657m (12,000ft) and of drilling to 12,200m (40,000ft).