Rowan Secures Contract for UDW Drillship (USA)

Rowan Companies plc an international provider of contract drilling services has unveiled it has received a Letter of Intent for its ultra-deepwater drillship, Rowan Renaissance.

The drillship, under construction in Korea, will work for Spanish oil giant Repsol at a day rate ranging from $614,000 to $624,000, depending on work location. The contract is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2014 following delivery in late 2013.

Mark Keller, Executive Vice President, Business Development comments: “Immediately after delivery in South Korea in late 2013, the drillship is expected to mobilize to West Africa for the first year of its commitment at an effective day rate of up to $624,000 per day. Repsol currently plans to move the Renaissance to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for the remaining 2 years, at which point, the effective day rate will be $614,000 per day. We look forward to our partnership with Repsol for this important milestone in Rowan’s history.”

Rowan Renaissance is the first of three Rowan’s drillships under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries. The drillships of GustoMSC P10,000 design, once completed, will be capable of drilling wells to depths of 40,000 feet in waters of up to 12,000 feet.

Keller adds: “We are encouraged, though not surprised, by the interest we’re getting in these very high-specification rigs from operators and remain optimistic about our ability to obtain attractive commitments for the other 2 drillships in the coming months. We also received an extension from Hyundai Heavy Industries for our option to build a fourth drillship. We now have until early September to exercise that option at a price substantially similar to what we are paying for the third rig. In the meantime, we continue to see good demand in upward pricing pressure in the high-spec jack-up markets around the world.”

Furthermore, Keller sees significant strength in the ultra-deepwater drillship market: “We believe the market is ready to absorb additional ultra-deepwater units. We are currently tracking active requirements for 23 ultra-deepwater drillships, including several outstanding proposals. While we continue to monitor projects in the frontier regions of the world, the focus of recent tender activity has been the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and West Africa.”

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, August 3, 2012