Vantage sinks deeper into the red. Adds fifth rig to jack-up fleet

Offshore driller Vantage Drilling sank deeper into the red in the last quarter of 2018 when compared to the prior-year period as its rig utilization and revenues dropped. The driller also revealed itself as the buyer of the Soehanah rig, increasing its jack-up fleet to five units. 

In its financial report on Thursday Vantage said it had bought the Soehanah jack-up drilling rig. The unit has been renamed Pearl Driller.

Offshore Energy Today previously reported of the Soehanah rig back in July 2018 when its previous owner announced the sale. At the time, Ship Finance International said it had sold the 2007-built jack-up drilling rig Soehanah “to an unrelated third party.”

According to Vantage’s latest fleet status report, the rig has been on a firm contract with Apexindo in Indonesia since the fourth quarter 2018, which is scheduled to expire by the end of 2Q 2019.

After that, Apexindo has options to extend the contract until the end of 2Q 2020.

Ihab Toma, CEO, commented, “I am pleased to report that during another difficult year for the industry we accomplished our principal objectives for 2018. We refinanced two tranches of debt thereby extending maturities to 2023. We also acquired the Soehanah jack-up, complementing our fleet of premium jack-up rigs and, most importantly, continued to provide operational excellence to our clients while generating positive cash flow from operations.”

When it comes to its financial performance, Vantage reported a net loss of approximately $52.2 million for the fourth quarter 2018 as compared to a net loss of $36.6 million in the same period of 2017.

Vantage recorded revenues of $43.1 million in the fourth quarter 2018 compared to revenues of $59.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.

For the full year 2018, Vantage reported a net loss of approximately $141.5 million as compared to a net loss of $149.8 million for 2017.

Vantage has a fleet of three ultra-deepwater drillships and five premium jack-up drilling rigs. The driller’s jack-up rig utilization in 4Q 2018 decreased to 96.6% from 99.5% in 4Q 2017. In the deepwater sector, Vantage’s utilization dropped to 35% from 45.4% in 4Q 2017.

Offshore Energy Today Staff