Samsung Heavy Christens Pair

January 24, 2014

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) on Thursday morning held a naming ceremony for Maersk Drilling’s two new ultra deepwater drillships.

Lisa Lance, wife of Ryan M. Lance, chairman and chief executive officer, ConocoPhillips, had the honour of naming Maersk Valiant, and Annell R. Bay, Vice President Global Exploration, Marathon Oil Corporation, had the honour of naming Maersk Venturer.

Maersk Valiant and Maersk Venturer are the second and third in a series of four ultra deepwater drillships to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet. The four drillships represent a total investment of $2.6 billion and will be delivered from the SHI shipyard in 2014.

After delivery from the yard, Maersk Valiant will commence a three year firm contract with ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil for their respective drilling programmes in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Facts about the new drillships from Maersk Drilling

Featuring dual derrick and large subsea work and storage areas, the design allows for efficient well construction and field development activities through offline activities. With their advanced positioning control system, the ships automatically maintain a fixed position in severe weather conditions with waves of up to 11 metres and wind speeds of up to 26 metres per second.

Special attention has been given to safety on board the drillships. Equipped with Multi Machine Control on the drill floor, the high degree of automation ensures safe operation and consistent performance.

Higher transit speeds and increased capacity will reduce the overall logistics costs for oil companies.

[mappress]
Press Release, January 24, 2014