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Gulf of Mexico: Cobalt Hires Rowan’s New Ultra-Deepwater Drillship
Rowan Companies plc announced today that one of its subsidiaries has entered into a three-year contract with Cobalt International Energy, L.P. for the Rowan Reliance, one of Rowan’s new ultra-deepwater drillships currently under construction at the Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (“HHI”) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea. The drillship is expected to operate in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The Rowan Reliance is expected to be delivered from HHI at the end of October 2014. The contract is expected to commence late January 2015 following mobilization. The effective day rate for the work will be $602,000, including mobilization revenues, and adds $660 million in revenue backlog.
Matt Ralls, Rowan’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are very pleased to enter into this relationship with Cobalt. They have a very exciting growth story with a strong track record in ultra-deepwater exploration. We will complement their growth potential through our expansion into the ultra-deepwater drilling segment with the most advanced drillships in the industry. We are proud to have this opportunity to be part of the future success of this exciting company.”
The Rowan Reliance is one of four ultra-deepwater drillships being constructed for Rowan by HHI. All four drillships are based on a GustoMSC P10,000 hull design, capable of drilling wells to depths of 40,000 feet in water depths up to 12,000 feet. The DP-3 compliant, dynamically positioned drillship will be equipped with retractable thrusters, two readily deployable seven-ram BOP systems, five mud pumps, dual mud systems and a maximum hookload capacity of 1,250 tons.
With the award of this contract for the Rowan Reliance, three of the Company’s four ultra-deepwater drillships under construction at HHI are now under contract. The fourth remaining uncontracted drillship, the Rowan Relentless, is scheduled to be delivered from the shipyard at the end of March 2015.
Rowan, August 6, 2013
OVERDRILL: The Next Generation of Drillship from Fincantieri
Fincantieri, one of the largest shipbuilding groups in the world, is showing its strong commitment in the offshore market, not only through its new subsidiary VARD (previously known as STX OSV), but also by providing the market with the next generation of drillship: the “OVERDRILL design” which will put the drilling contractors in condition to drill to an overall max depth of 50.000ft.
The OVERDRILL design, which has been developed by Fincantieri in cooperation with Aker Solutions, incorporates perfectly Fincantieri Offshore’s mission to offer vessels born and designed around the drilling system, maximizing its integration with the hull. Aker Solutions has supported the development of the new Fincantieri Offshore’s design based on its experience as a supplier of high quality drilling equipment and services.
Compared to other ships of this category, the ones of OVERDRILL design will also feature an increased variable deck load capacity despite reduced overall dimensions. This represent an opportunity for the drilling contractors to evolve their current fleet with a new class of vessels, featuring a higher level of performance and efficiency at the same time, which can be further adapted to their specific requirements and operational attitudes.
The number of offshore wells currently account for about 15% of the global total. Although offshore drilling activities have been successfully going on for several decades, the current phase, with its move into ultra-deep waters, might be the start of a new era.
Commenting on the new design Mr. Giuseppe Coronella, EVP of Fincantieri Offshore, said: “The offshore drilling market is driven, on the one hand, by demand for traditional standard systems and, on the other, by ultra-deepwater exploration demanding innovative solutions. With support from Aker Solutions, Fincantieri has produced a rig design that provides solutions to both these needs”.
Mr. Thor Arne Håverstad, Head of drilling technologies at Aker Solutions, said: “Fincantieri Offshore’s expertise in vessel design combined with Aker Solutions’ knowledge of drilling technologies created a very powerful partnership, which made it possible to create the OVERDRILL design.”
The drilling package is designed to meet new requirement related to water depth and drilling length with upgraded capacities, such as increased well pressure (20k) and hook load (1500st).
OVERDRILL design will be presented during the Houston OTC of May 6-10, 2013.
Gulf of Mexico: PXP Hires Noble’s New Drillships for $1.3 Bln
Noble Corporation today announced that the Company has entered into two three-year term drilling contracts with Plains Exploration & Production Company for the Noble Sam Croft and the Noble Tom Madden, two of Noble’s new ultra-deepwater drillships currently under construction at the Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
The drillships, which are being constructed on a fixed price basis, are expected to be utilized for operations primarily in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico under these contracts.
The Noble Sam Croft is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2014, followed closely by the Noble Tom Madden, which is expected to be delivered in second half of 2014. The contracts are expected to commence following mobilization to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and customer acceptance. Revenues to be generated over the three-year terms are expected to total approximately $693 million per rig, including mobilization fees, representing in excess of $1.3 billion in total potential backlog. With the award of contracts for these two units, all four ultra-deepwater drillships under construction for Noble at HHI are now under contract.
“With the addition of these units to our U.S. Gulf of Mexico fleet, Noble will have one of the most modern and capable fleets in the region, a fact that demonstrates the fundamental change going on across the Company,” noted David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “At the same time, these contracts provide us with significant additional backlog, while expanding and diversifying our customer base as we grow our relationship with an important new customer.”
The Noble Sam Croft and the Noble Tom Madden are two of the four ultra-deepwater drillships being constructed for Noble by HHI. All four drillships are based on a Hyundai Gusto P10000 hull design, capable of operations in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and offering a variable deck load of 20,000 metric tons. The Noble Sam Croft and Noble Tom Madden will be fully equipped to operate in up to 10,000 feet of water while offering DP-3 station keeping, two complete six-ram BOP systems, multiple parallel activity features that improve overall well construction efficiencies and accommodations for up to 210 personnel. Both rigs also will also be equipped with a 165-ton heave compensated construction cranes to facilitate deployment of subsea production equipment, providing another level of efficiency during field development programs.
Shell Hires Transocean’s 4 Newbuild UDW Drillships (South Korea)
Transocean Ltd. announced that it has been awarded 10-year contracts for four newbuild dynamically positioned ultra-deepwater drillships by Royal Dutch Shell (Shell).
Shipyard delivery for the first drillship is scheduled for mid-2015. The remaining three drillships are expected to be delivered from the shipyard at approximately six-month intervals thereafter. After customer acceptance, the contracts are expected to commence in 2015 and 2016, contributing an estimated revenue backlog of $7.6 billion, excluding mobilization. The aggregate capital investment for the four newbuild rigs is an estimated $3.0 billion, excluding capitalized interest.
All four drillships have advanced capabilities: each is designed to operate in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drill wells to 40,000 feet. Featuring state-of-the-art equipment, including Transocean’s patented dual-activity drilling technology, the newbuild drillships will possess industry-leading hoisting capacity. The drillships will also have a variable deckload capacity of 23,000 metric tons and feature enhanced well completion capabilities. In addition, each newbuild rig will be outfitted with two 15,000 psi blowout preventers (BOPs), which are expected to reduce customer non-productive time between wells. The four newbuild drillships will be able to accommodate a future upgrade to a 20,000 psi BOP, when it becomes available. The rigs will also feature diesel engines configured to comply with anticipated Tier III International Maritime Organization (IMO) emissions standards.
“These contracts add 40 years of rig work to our revenue backlog, expand and upgrade our ultra-deepwater fleet, improve our fleet mix and provide an opportunity to expand our relationship with an important customer with which we have 40 years of experience in advancing the state of the art in offshore drilling technology,” said Steven L. Newman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transocean Ltd. “We look forward to providing Shell with incremental value through the addition of these seventh-generation, ultra-deepwater drillships.”
Peter Sharpe, Shell’s Executive Vice President, Wells, said, “Shell continues to develop its deepwater operations and modernize its contracted rig fleet at fair market rates. These state-of-the-art deepwater rigs, on which we are collaborating with Transocean to design, will comply with the highest industry standards for safety, operations and environmental protection for drilling deepwater wells.”
The newbuild rigs will be constructed at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. facility at Okpo, South Korea, where Transocean’s five Enhanced Enterprise-Class rigs were built and where the company currently has two other ultra-deepwater drillships under construction. Construction on the first drillship is expected to commence during the fourth quarter of 2013.
Shell Hires Transocean’s 4 Newbuild UDW Drillships (South Korea)| Offshore Energy Today.
- Shell Gives Transocean a Huge Shot in the Arm with 40 Years of Drilling Contracts (gcaptain.com)
- Atwood Oceanics Orders Third Ultra-Deepwater Drillship (gcaptain.com)
- Time to Buy This Offshore Driller? (fool.com)
Gulf of Mexico: Seadrill Secures Contracts for Three Newbuild Drillships
Seadrill has received a commitment from a major oil company for new contracts on newbuild drillships West Auriga, West Vela and a third drilling unit currently in operation, which will be named later. The combined 3 rig package involves 19 rig years and a potential contract value of US$4 billion, including mobilization fees for the newbuild units.
West Auriga and West Vela are currently under construction at Samsung Shipyard in Korea. The newbuild units will commence transits to the Gulf of Mexico upon delivery from the yard, scheduled for late February and May 2013. Start-up of operations are scheduled for September and December 2013. The West Auriga and West Vela are the fourth and fifth drillships delivered to Seadrill by Samsung in the last 4 years. Each rig will be equipped with 1250 ton load capacity, an active heave compensated subsea construction crane and two 7 ram blow out preventers.
Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer in Seadrill Management AS, says, “The breadth and depth of this commitment from a major oil company is the result of our track record of delivering rigs on time, operating with a competent workforce and having the availability of a modern fleet. We are excited about the opportunity to further grow our fleet and operations in the US Gulf of Mexico, which we consider as one of the most cost effective drilling regions. In addition, the term of the contracts fits well with Seadrill financing plans including the potential use of MLP financing.”
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USA: Nautronix Supplies NASeBOP for Rowan’s Two Ultra-Deepwater Drillships
Nautronix have secured an order from a major BOP supplier to supply their NASeBOP (Emergency BOP Acoustic Control System) to be installed on Rowan’s two new ultra-deepwater drillships.
Nautronix’ NASeBOP Control System provides a method of backup control of critical BOP functions in the event of failure of primary communication and control. At the heart of the system is Nautronix’ ADS² (Acoustic Digital Spread Spectrum) signalling technology. The system achieves a highly reliable communications link from a surface vessel to a subsea isolation device, such as a full BOP, or a simple isolation device such as which would be used during surface BOP drilling.
The NASeBOP subsea system consists of two Subsea Control Units (SCU) connected to remote transducers. Each SCU is capable of controlling and monitoring up to eight functions. This includes control of an Emergency Disconnect Sequence (EDS). A 10 meter cable allows remote transducers to be positioned away from the SCUs, thus reducing the risk of shading or multi path effects caused by adjacent structures or subsea objects. Two SCUs provide system redundancy as each can be used independently for control and monitoring.
Mark Patterson, CEO of Nautronix comments: “We have invested more than £1M in Research and Development over the past year with a significant amount in the area of our NASCOM product family supporting acoustic switches for BOPs. We are very pleased to have been awarded these contracts only a few weeks after the NASDrill RS925 orders for these drillships. It is a great testament to the technology, products and the investment Nautronix has made and I am delighted that such a well known and respected company such as Rowan Companies, Inc. have chosen Nautronix ADS² acoustics for their new deepwater drilling rigs. Nautronix continues to build upon our strong track record in the Acoustic BOP control system market.”
The Nautronix system offered is the only system in the world that is fully compliant with API 16D and 17E standards and all test ports are testable to full operating depth (4000msw/5800psi)
The two NASeBOP systems will be delivered in 2013.
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Strong Demand for UDW Drillships Spurs Seadrill to Order One More from SHI (South Korea)
Seadrill continues to see strong demand for modern ultra-deepwater (UDW) drilling rigs driven by high oil prices and large deep-water discoveries and increased development drilling. Specific interest, mainly from operators in West Africa and the Americas, demonstrate a trend towards higher day rates and longer term contracts.
With yard costs at very attractive levels and Seadrill’s proven track record with respect to successful new build construction the Company today announced the order of a sixth drillship from Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) with delivery in the second quarter of 2014. The expected total project cost is less than USD600 million, in line with the 5 units under construction and with delivery in 2013 and 2014. The yard contract was originally between a party related to Seadrill’s major shareholder Hemen Holding and Samsung, as part of a larger shipyard deal, but Seadrill has been given the right to take over the contract at original terms.
Seadrill’s current new build program now includes 17 units: 6 ultra deep-water drillships, 1 harsh environment semi submersible, 5 tender rigs and 5 jack ups, all to be delivered in the period from Q4 2012 to Q1 2015. In addition, Seadrill has received a fixed price option for a further ultra deep-water drillship. The six drillships under construction are of the same design and will have a hook load capability of 1,250 tons and a water depth capacity of up to 12,000 feet targeting operations in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and West and East Africa. Also, these units will be outfitted with seven ram configuration of the Blow out Preventer (BOP) stack and with storing and handling capacity for a second BOP.
CEO of Seadrill Alf Thorkildsen says:
“With the available capacity in 2013 and 2014 Seadrill is uniquely positioned among its peers to take advantage of strong demand for drilling services with high dayrates and longer charter contracts. We will continue to aggressively build Seadrill’s earnings and further expansion of the building program is expected in the months to come. Together, these developments provide for continued value creation and an increased dividend capacity.”
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South Korea’s Samsung Wins USD 1.1 bln Order for Two Drillships
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), one of South Korea’s “Big Three” shipbuilding companies says it has received an order for the construction of two drillships.
The order’s estimated value is approximately USD 1.1 billion and it comes from a “large-scale” American corporation. According to the contract details posted on the Korea Exchange (KRX), SHI will make the deliveries no later than August 31, 2014.
This has been a fruitful month for Samsung Heavy Industries. On February 13, the company announced it had received the order from INPEX for the construction of an offshore central processing facility (CPF) for the Ichthys LNG project in Australia.
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