Offshore staff

HAMILTON, Bermuda – Seadrill (XOSL:SDRL) has entered a turnkey contract with Samsung to build a new ultra-deepwater drillship in South Korea.

The estimated price is about $600 million, including project management, drilling and handling tools, spares, capitalized interest, and operation preparations. Delivery is scheduled for 4Q 2014.

Additionally, Seadrill has agreed to a fixed-price option for construction of a further drillship at the yard, due to be delivered in 1Q 2015. The company believes that continuing drilling demand will lead to limited rig availability in 2014 and is currently discussing details of upgrades for that unit.

The new drillship will be of the same design as six existing vessels Samsung is building, with a hook load capability of 1,250 tons (1,134 metric tons) and a water depth capability of 12,000 ft (3,657 m). The main target areas are the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and West and East Africa.

As before, the new units will be outfitted with a seven-ram BOP stack configuration, and with storing and handling capacity for a second BOP. 

Seadrill currently has 19 newbuild rigs on order, including seven drillships, two harsh environment semisubmersibles, five tender rigs, and five jackups.

Chairman John Fredriksen said: “We have a unique environment where both daily rates and contract duration are increasing to new highs, while yard prices remain low due to the overcapacity in the shipyard industry.”

9/24/2012