New contracts revive two Transocean rigs

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has secured more work for its drilling rigs, which meant returning from idle state for a couple of them, and decided to sell two. 

In its quarterly fleet status report on Tuesday, Transocean confirmed that the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible GSF Development Driller I was awarded a three-well contract plus two one-well options offshore Australia by Quadrant Energy. Following a cold-stacked reactivation and mobilization, the floater is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2018.

The 2014-built drillship Deepwater Asgard has been awarded a two-well contract in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico by Deep Gulf Energy. The contract, with an undisclosed dayrate, ends in August. The ultradeepwater drillship was previously idle.

Also in the Gulf of Mexico, Chevron has reduced the dayrates for Transocean’s two drillships. The dayrate for the 2009-built Discoverer Clear Leader went from $580,000 to $575,000 and for the 2010-built Discoverer Inspiration from $576,000 to $571,000.

In addition, oil giant BP has reduced the dayrate for Transocean’s 2010-built drillship Discoverer Luanda from $487,000 to $431,000 and changed the location from Angola to Malaysia. The rig’s contract expires in January 2018.

Further according to the report, it has been decided that the 2009-built drillship Petrobras 10000, which is under contract with Petrobras until August 2019 will work for the Brazilian company in Colombia from July until September under a dayrate of $492,000 after which it will go to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico where it will be until January 2018 and from February 2018 until August 2019 it is back in Brazil.

The semi-submersible drilling rig Development Driller III, built in 2009, has been awarded a two-well contract which ends in September 2017. The contract is with an undisclosed client under an undisclosed dayrate. This ultra-deepwater semi-submersible was previously idle.

Australian energy company Woodside has exercised two one-well options for the 2010-built drillship Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 offshore Myanmar. It starts in December and ends in February 2018 with an undisclosed dayrate.

BP has exercised a one-well option for the 1990-built semi-submersible Paul B. Loyd, Jr. in the U. K. North Sea until November 2017. The dayrate has not been disclosed but the rig’s previous rate was $423,000.

Aker BP has exercised three one-well options for the 1986-built semi-submersible Transocean Arctic in the Norwegian North Sea. The rig is contracted until April 2018 under an undisclosed dayrate. Worth noting, the rig’s dayrate under current contract is $180,000.

The mid-water floaters Transocean Prospect and Transocean Searcher, both built in 1983, were classified as held for sale. The rigs will be recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.

Offshore Energy Today Staff