Murphy Charters Pacific Drilling Drillship for Mexico Wells

Deepwater drilling rig contractor Pacific Drilling has found more work for its Pacific Sharav drillship.

The drilling company on Wednesday revealed that Murphy Oil had hired the drillship for work offshore Mexico. According to the fleet status report, Murphy has agreed to charter the unit for two firm wells and one optional well.

The day rate for the 2014-built drillship has been set to $230,000, and the contract is expected to start in November and last until February 2021.

Pacific Drilling on Wednesday said that its fourth-quarter 2019 contract drilling revenue was $33.1 million compared to $54.3 million in third-quarter 2019. 

The decrease in revenue resulted mainly from the Pacific Sharav drillship completing its legacy Chevron five-year contract in late August 2019 and rolling over to continue working for Chevron at a lower day rate reflective of the current market, the drilling contractor explained.

Pacific Drilling's fleet status report shows that the drillship was on a contract with Chevron between December 2019 and March 2020 at a day rate of $185,000 drilling second contracted well of three firm wells. 

The rig has another one-well contract with Chevron in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico starting in March and ending in May 2020. The day rate for this well is $225,000.

Pacific Drilling's net loss for fourth-quarter 2019 was $308.1 million compared to $90.8 million in third-quarter 2019.

Included in the net loss for fourth-quarter 2019, Pacific Drilling said, is a $217.6 million loss from unconsolidated subsidiaries predominately related to the elimination of the receivable from the balance sheet due to the Pacific Zonda drillship arbitration decision in favor of Samsung Heavy Industries.

To remind, a London arbitration tribunal in January ordered Pacific Drilling to pay $320 million to Samsung Heavy Industries for a 2015 drillship order cancellation.