Offshore staff
(West Africa) - Kosmos Energy has entered into agreements with West Africa Drilling NV and Aban Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Aban) to acquire drilling services from the drillshipPeregrine III.
Aban will upgrade the dynamically positioned drillship in a Singapore shipyard to operate in water depths up to 6,000 ft.
Total project costs are an estimated $180 million to $200 million.
The vessel is scheduled to reenter service in mid-2007 and initially will drill wells for Kosmos offshore West Africa.
"This agreement provides Kosmos Energy with the capability to execute a portion of our exploration and drilling programs in West Africa," says James C. Musselman, Kosmos chairman and CEO.
"We are excited about the opportunity to expedite the drilling of our sizable and growing acreage position.
"E&P companies must take this type of initiative to realize success, especially in today's marketplace.
"Rigs are in tight supply, a condition that industry experts forecast will continue for an extended period."
Aban will operate thePeregrine III, which will be renamed Aban Abraham, under terms of a drilling contract with Kosmos.
West Africa Drilling NV, which purchased thePeregrine III from Transocean, recently was sold to Aban.
West Africa Drilling NV is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mike Mullen Energy Equipment Resource Inc., and Aban Singapore Pte. Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore Ltd.
02/23/06
