Seadrill JV lands 12-well job for drillship in Angola

Offshore drilling contractor Sonadrill, a 50:50 joint venture between Seadrill and an affiliate of Sonangol, has secured a 12-well extension in Angola for the Libongos drillship.

The extension has been secured at $402,500 per day and the total contract value for the firm portion of the contract is approximately $327 million, inclusive of additional services.

The beginning of the contract is expected in 4Q 2022, with a firm term of approximately 25 months, in direct continuation of the existing contract.

There are currently three drillships bareboat chartered into Sonadrill, a Seadrill-owned unit, the West Gemini, and two Sonangol-owned units, the Quenguela and Libongos.

These Sonangol-owned 7th-generation high-spec ultra-deepwater drillships were built at a DSME shipyard in Korea and delivered in 2019. Seadrill manages and operates the units on behalf of Sonadrill.

Seadrill’s Chief Executive Officer, Simon Johnson, commented: “Sonadrill remains strategically important for the development of the Angolan oil and gas sector. Sonadrill is the number one rig operator in Angola and this new contract will generate significant free cash flow for the joint venture which will ultimately flow to Seadrill and Sonangol as shareholders.”

According to Seadrill’s latest fleet status report, Libongos has been under contract with an undisclosed operator in Angola since December 2020 with an end date set for this month. The day rate was $228,800.

On the other hand, Quenguela has been working for TotalEnergies since March 2022 with the firm part of the contract expected to end in October 2023. The current day rate of $214,500 is expected to increase to $310,500 if TotalEnergies exercises options from October 2023 until October 2024.

Earlier this year, Sonadrill also secured a 10-well contract with options for up to 8 additional wells in Angola for the 2010-built West Gemini drillship. The contract was scheduled to start in 4Q 2022 with a firm term of approximately 18 months, in direct continuation of the rig’s existing contract with TotalEnergies.