More time secured to iron out Vantage drillship’s new assignment

July 23, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Vantage Drilling International, a Bermuda-exempted offshore drilling contractor, has struck a deal to postpone the expiration date of a conditional letter of award (CLOA) with an undisclosed client regarding a potential job for one of its ultra-deepwater drillships.

Platinum Explorer drillship; Source: Vantage Drilling

The CLOA for the 2010-built Platinum Explorer drillship, revealed in April 2025, came with a 90-day validity period and a value of approximately $80 million. The conditional letter of award for this sixth-generation ultra-deepwater rig has now been extended by a further 30 days.

The company claims that all other terms and conditions remain unchanged. Therefore, the drillship will mobilize and get ready for this assignment during Q3 2025. The contract encompasses a total of 260 days, including mobilization, preparation, and demobilization time.

While the deal for approximately 70 days of drilling is set to begin in Q4 2025 and end in Q1 2026, the actual rig contract is subject to reaching an agreement on terms and conditions, as well as other approvals.

Capable of working in water depths of up to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), the drillship’s maximum drilling depth is 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and it is designed to hold up to 180 personnel.

The CLOA follows marketing rights Vantage got for a newbuild ultra-deepwater drillship, enabling it to market the seventh-generation rig for opportunities in Africa, the Mediterranean, Asia, and Australasia.