Diamond Offshore taking over marketing rights for two drillships

Offshore drilling contractor Diamond Offshore Drilling has made arrangements with Eldorado Drilling, an offshore drilling player backed by a group of well-known Norwegian investors, to be in charge of marketing rights for two seventh-generation drillships.

Pelago Management’s venture with Eldorado Drilling oversees the interests of the West Zonda, West Dorado, and West Draco drillship owners. According to the company, Diamond Offshore has secured marketing rights for Eldorado Drilling’s West Dorado and West Draco drillships, which will be marketed in Brazil, Latin America, West Africa, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Following the announcement of its intention to acquire the newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships from Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in 2023, the Norwegian drilling player set off to raise $130 million in August 2023 to finance the rig acquisition. The drillships were slated for delivery in 2024.

The Dorado drillship embarked on its first trip from Samsung Heavy Industries in Geoje, South Korea, to Malaysia on Saturday, April 6, and dropped anchor in Labuan on April 18. The drillship was originally ordered in 2013 by Seadrill. However, the order was canceled in the wake of the offshore drilling contractor’s restructuring quest in 2018.

Before Dorado went to Malaysia, the Zonda drillship set sail from Samsung Heavy Industries to begin its inaugural journey to Seatrium in Singapore. The rig docked at the yard on March 18.  

The marketing rights for Dorado and Draco drillships come at a time when Diamond Offshore also struck a deal with the owner of the former West Libra, now known as the Tidal Action, drillship to market its rig in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. This rig was originally ordered in 2013 by Seadrill.

Tidal Action, built in Korea by Hanwha Ocean, is a seventh-generation ultra-deepwater drillship, which can undertake drilling operations in water depths up to 12,000 feet. With DP3-certified thrusters, large deck space, and load capacities, the rig has dual derricks for increased drilling activity and efficiency.