Total has booked Prospector Offshore Drilling’s Prospector 5 jack-up rig, which is currently being built in the Far East.
A conditional letter of award has been issued by the French oil company covering the long-term use of the rig for North Sea operations.
The first phase of the contract is for 1,095 days (three years) and is worth an estimated $249million to Prospector. Two further one-year options have also been signalled in the letter.
Prospector 5 is the third jack-up ordered by the drilling company from the Shanghai Waigaoqiao shipyard in China. One of these is also scheduled to work for Total in the North Sea.
The latest rig’s maiden drilling campaign is expected to begin late Q2/earlyQ3 next year following the yard’s completion of the rig . . . expected next March.
Robert W Rose, Prospector’s president and CEO, said of the latest contract win: “This award is another significant milestone for the company as we prepare to take delivery of Prospector 5, our first rig from the SWS shipyard.
“Deploying Prospector 1 and Prospector 5 into similar high specification North Sea programmes will bring tremendous efficiencies to both Total and the company.
“Prospector 3, our second rig, is progressing toward delivery in December and has drawn substantial market interest.
“We currently have the rig on offer for two opportunities in the North Sea and for an opportunity in another harsh environment region.
“We have also had visits from several potential purchasers for Prospector 3 and continue to evaluate all options.”
Prospector’s headquarters are in Luxembourg, but operates out of Aberdeen and Houston.
The company specialises in jack-ups and currently has contracts in place for the design, construction and delivery of six JU2000E high specification, harsh environment units capable of working in water depths to 122m.
The firm also has option agreements for the construction of three additional rigs of the same design.
Prospector claims that it will have the newest fleet of HS/HE jack-up rigs in the world, operating with the most advanced drilling systems available in the industry.
Rose has been in drilling since 1980 when he joined Noble Drilling, serving with that company for 25 years. Prior to starting Prospector, he joined Premium Drilling in 2005 as its first employee and served as president and CEO until March 2009.
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