Transocean rigs land new jobs with better day rates

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has secured more work for four of its drillships and one semi-submersible rig, with some getting better day rates than before.

Transocean published its latest fleet status report on Monday, revealing new contracts and extensions for its fleet of drilling rigs with an aggregate incremental backlog of approximately $87.7 million.

The rig owner’s backlog is now $6.5 billion compared to the $7.1 billion backlog at the end of October 2021.

Deepwater Conqueror drillship has been awarded a one-well contract extension from Chevron in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at $335,000 per day. The report shows that, due to the extension, the contract is now expected to end in December instead of October this year. The previous day rate under the contract with Chevron, in the period from Dec 2016 till Dec 2021, was $579,000.

Next up is the Deepwater Asgard drillship, which has secured a two-well contract in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at $395,000 per day. The name of the operator has not been disclosed but the contract is expected to run from April until June 2022. The rig’s day rate has been increased with this contract as the previous one, also in the Gulf of Mexico with an unnamed operator, was $100,000 lower totalling $295,000. Before that, the rig’s day rate with Beacon was $240,000 in the period between July-Sep 2021 and $280,000 from September till October 2021.

Moreover, the Deepwater Invictus drillship has won a one-well contract extension with BHP in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at $305,000 per day, expected to run from June until September 2022. The rig’s day rates under the contract with BHP were $260,000 in the period from October 2021 till March 2022 and will be $295,000 from March till June 2022 followed by the latest extension with the highest rate so far.

Another drillship, the Discoverer Inspiration, has been awarded a one-well contract with EnVen Energy, plus two one-well options in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at $290,000 per day. The rig is currently under contract with Hess until August 2022 with a day rate of $215,000 after which it will start its operation for EnVen whose optional periods are slated for Sep-Nov and Nov-Dec 2022 periods with day rates of $300,000 and $310,000, respectively.

Finally, Transocean said that its Paul B Loyd, Jr. semi-submersible has secured a one-well contract with Serica Energy in the UK North Sea at $160,000 per day. The rig’s previous contract was with Harbour Energy, also in the UK North Sea, with an undisclosed day rate.

The report also shows that the Development Driller III semi-submersible has been idle since January 2022. The rig’s previous contract was with BHP in Trinidad in November 2021 with a day rate of $220,000.