Russian Company Hires Semi-Submersible Rig for Drilling Offshore Cuba

Songa Offshore, a Cyprus based drilling contractor, reports that a firm contract for the use of Songa Mercur has been agreed and signed with Zarubezhneft, a public joint stock company of Russia.

The contract covers the use of the Songa Mercur for Zarubezhneft’s upcoming drilling campaign offshore Cuba.

The contract will commence 1 July 2012, at which point the rig will depart Malaysia after completion of intermediate SPS activities. The rig will remain in Trinidad at a standby rate until the drilling program commences late November 2012. The firm contract is for 325 days with minimum aggregate total revenue of approximately $88 million, inclusive of mobilization elements.

Cuba estimates that its offshore fields hold approximately 20 billion barrels of oil, which could, once unlocked provide a major boost to the communist country’s economy. Last month, the Spanish oil company, Repsol, after a failed attempt to discover oil in a well offshore Cuba, decided to abandon any further offshore drilling plans in the Caribbean nation’s waters.

[mappress]
Offshore Energy Today Staff, June 22, 2012