Esgian Week 11 Report: New Discoveries in UK and Namibia
Esgian reports that drilling contracts have been announced this week for operations in Brazil and the Philippines, and new discoveries have been confirmed in the UK and Namibia in its Week 11 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsCOSL Drilling has emerged as the winner for Petrobras' moored semisubmersible tender with the 4,600-ft Nanhai 8 (also known as Nan Hai Ba Hao).Noble has secured a high-dayrate drillship contract with Prime Energy in the Philippines.Drilling Activity and…
Esgian Week 9 Report: Dolphin, Diamond and Seadrill Updates
Esgian reports rig-related updates from Dolphin Drilling, Diamond Offshore, and Seadrill in its Week 9 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDespite Tullow Oil’s recent announcement that it would take a break from drilling offshore Ghana, Noble Corp. has stated that there has been no contract termination announcement and that its 12,000-ft drillship Noble Venturer is currently still contracted to Tullow into March 2025.Masirah Oil Ltd has signed a rig contract with…
Stena Drilling Takes Delivery of Stena Evolution Drillship
Offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling has taken delivery of its 7th generation Stena Evolution ultra-deepwater drillship from Samsung Heavy Industries.After a decade in the making, Stena Evolution drillship has finally been completed and is ready for its first job.The technologically advanced drillship is capable of operating at water depths of up to 12,000ft (around 3,500 meters) and drilling depths up to 40,000ft (over 12,000 meters).The drilling unit utilizes riser storage in hull to offer extensive deck space with a 24…
Esgian: New Contracts, Drilling Activities and Rig Moves Across the World
Esgian's last roundup of the year for the Week 52 puts spotlight on new developments for Dolphin Drilling semisub, Seadrill drillships, as well as Shell’s plans for Australia and ONGC’s new tender for jackups in India.ContractsDolphin Drilling has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with an undisclosed operator for the 1,500-ft semisubmersible Borgland Dolphin to undertake a 500-day drilling campaign in the UK. The drilling campaign is planned to begin directly after the firm part of the contract period with EnQuest, which was announced in late November 2023.
Esgian: Rigs on the Move in Asia and Europe
This week Esgian’s Week 50 Rig Analytics Market Roundup notes developments in the semisub sector including that Shell has decided to exercise its option on Stena Don in the North Sea but not on Deepsea Bollsta in Namibia. Meanwhile, a new contract for the Transocean Barents will see it operate in the Black Sea, and jackup Shelf Drilling Perseverance will move to Vietnam.ContractsShelf Drilling has secured a contract award for the 400ft Shelf Drilling Perseverance jackup rig with PetroVietnam Domestic Exploration Production Operating Company Limited (PVEP POC).
Plans in Progress for New North Sea Wells
Esgian has published its Week 49 Rig Market Roundup highlighting new drilling activity in the North Sea and a new licensing deal in Morocco.Drilling Activity and DiscoveriesSerica Energy is continuing with plans for its four-well drilling campaign in the UK North Sea, scheduled for 2024 and early 2025. The campaign will be carried out using the semisubmersible COSLInnovator. All four wells are production wells. The first well in the campaign will be a sidetrack of an existing well (B1z) on the Bittern field.
Drilling Roundup: New Contracts and New Carbon Storage Activity
Esgian has published its Week 48 Rig Market Roundup highlighting that new contract awards were revealed for a Velesto Drilling jackup, two Seadrill drillships and a Dolphin Drilling semisub. Meanwhile, Wintershall Dea is planning to drill a new carbon storage well in Norway.ContractsMalaysia’s Velesto Drilling has agreed on an extension of a contract with Carigali Hess Operating Company for another year and six months.Seadrill has secured a short-term contract for 12,000ft drillship West Vela in the US Gulf of Mexico with QuarterNorth Energy…
Arbitration Tribunal Delivers Verdict: Hanwha Triumphs in Deepwater Drillship Dispute
An arbitration tribunal has delivered a verdict in a drillship order cancellation case involving offshore drilling contractor Northern Drilling and Daweoo Shipbuilding Marine and Engineering (now known as Hanwha Ocean), ruling in favor of Hanwha.Billionaire John Fredriksen-owned offshore drilling company Northern Drilling canceled the West Aquila and West Libra drillship orders with South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in 2021, citing delay of deliveries as well as a repudiatory breach of contract, and said it would seek a refund for installments paid.
Transocean Awarded $222 Million Drillship Contract
Offshore drilling contractor Transocean announced it has been awarded a $222 million contract for one of its ultra-deepwater drillships to go to work offshore India.India's state-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd awarded the binding notification of award for Transocean's Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1, a sixth-generation drillship built in 2009 by South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries.The 21-month program is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2024, contributing an estimated $222 million in backlog…
Northern Lights CCS: Trailblazing the Path to Europe’s Net Zero Emissions
In the global quest for achieving net zero emissions and slowing down global warming, carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology has emerged as an important solution. Among the notable projects being developed in the field is the Northern Lights offshore carbon capture and storage project in Norway, a country with long experience with offshore CO2 storage.The transition to a sustainable energy future requires innovative solutions that go beyond simply halting fossil fuel projects.
Transocean's Deepwater Titan Begins Inaugural Contract for Chevron
Offshore drilling contractor Transocean said its new eighth-generation drillship Deepwater Titan has started its inaugural contract with supermajor Chevron in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.Built by Singapore's Sembcorp Marine and delivered to Transocean subsidiary Triton Titan GmBH in December 2022, Deepwater Titan is the world’s second eighth-generation drillship, constructed based on the builder’s Jurong Espadon 3T design.The dual-derrick ultra-deepwater drillship is the first-ever unit delivered with two 20…
Transocean's Big Move: Adapting Offshore Drilling Vessels to Install Wind Foundations
Transocean, best known for its deepwater drilling services in the oil and gas space, is looking to expand into the offshore wind sector and is planning to convert some of its offshore drilling vessels into wind foundation installation vessels.The company said Wednesday it had executed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with offshore wind installation services firm Eneti with a plan to form a joint venture company that will engage in offshore wind foundation installation…
Sembcorp Delivers 8th-generation Drillship Deepwater Titan to Transocean
Singapore-based shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine has delivered Deepwater Titan, the world’s second 8th-generation drillship, to Transocean subsidiary Triton Titan GmBH.Deepwater Titan is the second of two new 8th-generation drillships constructed by Sembcorp Marine based on the group’s Jurong Espadon 3T design. The dual-derrick drillship is the first-ever unit delivered with two 20,000-psi blowout preventers (BOPs), well-control, riser and piping systems for high-pressure and high-temperature drilling and completion operations.
Great Ships '22: Deepwater Atlas, “World’s First Eighth-Gen Ultra-Deepwater Drillship”
Marijana Sosic, Manager, Technical Marketing at Transocean, discusses some of the outstanding features of the Deepwater Atlas – Built in Singapore at Sembcorp Marine's Jurong Shipyard and flying the Marshall Islands flag – and sister-ship Deepwater Titan , which together represent an investment of more than $2 billion.The Deepwater Atlas was launched this year in Singapore. What, specifically, is so special about it?The Deepwater Atlas is the first of its kind eighth-generation drillship that will offer 20,000 psi well control capabilities and a 3.4 million pound hoisting capacity.
Ailing Drillship Worker Airlifted in the Gulf of Mexico
An ailing worker was medevaced from a Transocean drillship 189 miles south of Port Fourchon, La., on Monday.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector New Orleans received a request at 2:21 a.m. from Bristol Search and Rescue Services to medevac a 60 year-old-male who was experiencing stroke like symptoms on board the Deepwater Thalassa.The watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew and a Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew.The MH-60 aircrew arrived on scene…
World's First 8th Generation Drillship Starts Maiden Contract
Offshore drilling company Transocean said Thursday that its Deepwater Atlas, the world's first 8th generation drillship, had started its first contract.The offshore drilling rig, delivered by Singapore's Sembcorp Marine in June, is under a contract with Beacon Offshore Energy in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.The Deepwater Atlas is the first of two ultra-deepwater drillships based on the Sembcorp Marine's Jurong Espadon 3T design. The second, also owned by Transocean, is the Deepwater Titan.The Deepwater Atlas has a hook-load lifting capacity of three million pounds.
Transocean Takes Delivery of World's First 8th Generation Drillship
Singapore-based shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine has delivered the world's first 8th generation drillship, the Deepwater Atlas, to its owner Transocean.The Deepwater Atlas is the first of two ultra-deepwater drillships based on the Sembcorp Marine's Jurong Espadon 3T design. The completed drillship features three-million pound hook-load hoisting capacity and, according to the rigbuilder, sets a new frontier for next generation drillships with its ability to accommodate well control systems for 20,000 psi (pounds per square inch) drilling and completion operations.
World's First 8th Generation Drillship Named in Singapore
Deepwater Atlas, the world's first 8th generation drillship, was recently named at a ceremony in Singapore. The news of the naming ceremony, held late in April, was shared by Transocean, a drilling contractor that owns the vessel, via social media this week.The Deepwater Atlas and its sister rig Deepwater Titan will be the first two 8th generation units when they enter service, and, according to Transocean, will be characterized not only by their ability to drill and complete 20…
“It’s alive!”: Offshore Drillers Start Resuscitating Idle Drillships
Offshore drilling rig reactivations have begun as utilization and dayrates continue their rapid recovery, Esgian's Teresa Wilkie writes.We expected it to happen just not necessarily this soon. But now it’s official, several cold-stacked rigs are about to be reactivated for new jobs in the Golden Triangle, and Valaris is taking the lead. Just last week, the driller confirmed that it will reactivate 6th generation, ultra-deepwater drillship Valaris DS-4 for a minimum 580-day deal with Petrobras Brazil.
Seadrill Closer to Chapter 11 Emergence as Court Nod Granted
Offshore drilling company Seadrill has moved a step closer to reaching bankruptcy emergence after the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved the disclosure statement for the company's proposed plan of reorganization.Seadrill said Friday that the court had authorized the company to distribute the disclosure statement and solicit votes from all lenders on the Plan. The court also set a hearing to consider approval of the Plan for October 26, 2021."The…
Transocean and Dolphin Drilling Make New Bid for Seadrill
Offshore drilling rig contractors Transocean Ltd and Dolphin Drilling have made a new offer to buy the assets of stricken rival Seadrill Ltd, Dolphin's chief executive said on Friday.Oslo-listed Seadrill, founded by Norwegian-born tycoon John Fredriksen, is seeking to emerge from U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings under an alternative financial plan filed in court last month."I can confirm that Dolphin and Transocean submitted an updated bid yesterday," Dolphin Chief Executive Bjoernar Iversen told Reuters.Seadrill's Oslo-listed shares traded 5.5% up by 1425 GMT…
Transocean Reels In Two Deepwater Drillship Deals in Gulf of Mexico
Offshore drilling firm Transocean said Wednesday it had secured contracts for two offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The contracts are worth $55.5 million in total.Transocean said that its Deepwater Conqueror drillship had won a one-well contract with "a major operator" in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. "The value of this contract adds approximately 85 days and $28.5 million in the backlog," Transocean said, without sharing the identity of the client. Deepwater Conqueror is a DSME 12000 ultra-deepwater drillship, built/upgraded in 2016/2017 by DSME in South Korea.The Deepwater Conqueror is currently in the Gulf of Mexico, under a $579,000 a day charter with Chevron. This contract expires in December.
Transocean Sees Multiple Offshore Rig Deals Awarded, One Terminated in Q2
Offshore drilling contractor Transocean on Wednesday released its quarterly offshore drilling rig fleet status report, which shows one contract terminated in Norway, and several new deals secured Norway, U.S. Gulf, Brazil, Angola, Brunei, and, possibly, Myanmar. The rig owner's total backlog is now around $7.3 billion.While some of the contracts were already announced as they were coming in during the quarter, Transocean shared some new information, too.It said Thursday that the Hungarian oil firm MOL had in July terminated the Transocean Barents semi-sub drilling contract for convenience. The drilling rig was supposed to stay with MOL between May and December 2021…