Two Seadrill drillships pick up $1.1 billion for work in Brazil

Offshore drilling contractor Seadrill has found long-term assignments for two drillships with Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas giant, Petrobras.

While announcing the award of two 1,064-day fixed-term contracts in Brazil, Seadrill explained that the West Auriga and the West Polaris drillships secured the work recently as a result of a competitive bidding process.

While the total contract value for the West Auriga is around $577 million, the total contract value for the West Polaris is about $518 million. Both are inclusive of mobilization fees and additional services.

Therefore, the offshore drilling player underlines that these contracts, which are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2024, come with a total contract value of approximately $1.1 billion, inclusive of additional services and mobilization fees.

Simon Johnson, Seadrill’s President & Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We have secured long-term contracts for the West Auriga and the West Polaris alongside our four high-specification drillships already working in Brazil.

“Petrobras are an important and long-standing customer for Seadrill. We are excited to expand our contractual relationship with them and increase our rig count in this key geography.”

The West Auriga and the West Polaris will transition to Seadrill from the existing third-party managers, Diamond Offshore and Vantage Drilling, before undertaking the drilling campaigns with Petrobras.

The 2013-built West Auriga is a Samsung 12,000 seventh-generation ultra-deepwater dual-activity drillship with an accommodation capacity for 200 people. While the rig is capable of operating in water depths of 12,000 ft, its maximum drilling depth is 37,500 ft.

On the other hand, the 2008-built West Polaris is a Samsung 10,000 sixth-generation ultra-deepwater dual activity drillship, which comes with a capacity to work in water depths up to 10,000 ft. This rig has a maximum drilling depth of 37,500 ft and can accommodate 200 people.

Seadrill has been working on securing new jobs for its rig fleet. At the end of November 2023, the company confirmed additional work for two other drillships in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.