Report: Transocean finds work for idle drillship

U.S. oil company Murphy Oil has reportedly hired a drillship from the Swiss-based offshore driller Transocean.

According to information provided by VesselsValue, a website providing intel on offshore and shipping world, Murphy Oil hired the Deepwater Asgard drillship on a six-month fixed term charter deal.

The fixing date of the contract was Thursday, January 11, with the deal scheduled to begin on March 1, 2018.

VesselsValue further revealed that the deal for Transocean’s drillship would end on August 31, 2018.

No additional information regarding the deal was disclosed. The drilling location, as well as the financial details, remain unknown.

The last time Offshore Energy Today reported on the Deepwater Asgard was in late October 2017. Namely, the rig was idled after it completed its contract in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with Deep Gulf Energy.

At the moment, the Deepwater Asgard drillship is located in the Gulf of Mexico together with Transocean’s Discoverer India and Discoverer Clear Leader, both idled.

The Discoverer India has been idle since December 2016 while the Discovery Clear Leader, according to the Transocean’s latest fleet status report, finished its last arranged contract in November 2017.

The 2014-built drillship Deepwater Asgard was built by DSME in South Korea. It can operate in water depths of 12,000 feet and drill to a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 feet.

Offshore Energy Today Staff