Maersk Drilling’s first ultra-deepwater drillship, Maersk Viking, will be deployed to the US Gulf of Mexico under a three-year, $610 million contract with ExxonMobil.
Offshore staff
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Maersk Drilling’s first ultra-deepwater drillship, Maersk Viking, will be deployed to the US Gulf of Mexico under a three-year, $610 million contract with ExxonMobil.
The newbuild vessel is the first in a series of four ultra-deepwater drillships toenter Maersk’s fleet in late 2013 and early 2014. Samsung Heavy Industries will deliver the rigs at a total cost of $2.6 billion.
At a naming ceremony in Samsung’s Geoje, South Korea shipyard, Maersk Drilling CEO Claus Hemmingsen said the vessel would further the company’s goal of “establishing ourselves as a significant drilling contractor in the US Gulf of Mexico.”
The ultra-deepwater semisubMaersk Developer has been active in the Gulf of Mexico since 2009. A second newbuild drillship, Deepwater Advanced 2, will be deployed to the region upon delivery.
