Maersk Drilling Boasts ‘Best Quarter Ever’

Danish drilling contractor Maersk Drilling today reported its best quarterly result ever. The company made a 2Q profit of $150 million compared to $98 million earned in 2Q 2012.

The profit was driven by increased operational uptime of its drilling rigs.

All of the company’s rigs were on contract during the quarter, lifting the operational uptime to 96%, up from 86% achieved in the second quarter of 2012.

Furthermore, the company has revised its full year forecast from “above the 2012 result” to “significantly above the 2012 result”. To remind, Maersk Drilling last year reported full year net profit of $347 million.

Billion dollar plan

Maersk Drilling currently has seven rigs under construction or on order. The orderbook includes three ultra-harsh environment jack-up rigs  and four ultra deepwater drillships.

The first two jack-ups are scheduled to be delivered in 2014, the third in 2015. As for the drillships, two will be delivered in 2013 and two 2014.

“The aim is to take delivery and commence operation of the rigs on time and on budget. Focus is also on securing contracts for the third and fourth drillship under construction with expected delivery in mid-2014,”said the company in a report.

The company’s plan is to become a significant and stable contributor to the Group with a profit of  $1 billion by 2018. To achieve the one-billion-dollar plan, Maersk Drilling will focus on “delivering a high operational performance and on maintaining a high contract backlog, while continuing to evaluate economically attractive growth opportunities within the ultra harsh environment and ultra deepwater market. “