Offshore staff

HOUSTON -- BP has awarded Pride International a five-year contract for a deepwater drillship for an initial term in the Gulf of Mexico. The unit is being constructed at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, and is expected to be delivered in mid-2010.

The vessel is expected to be used initially in the GoM, with further operations possible on BP's other global deepwater interests. The drillship is one of three Pride ultra deepwater units under construction at the SHI shipyard. All three units have now been awarded contracts with durations of at least five years.

The five-year contract is expected to begin during 4Q 2010, following the completion of shipyard construction, mobilization of the rig to an initial operating location, and customer acceptance testing. Revenues that could be generated over the five-year contract term, excluding revenues for the reimbursement of costs associated with the mobilization of the rig, are approximately $984 million.

According to Pride, the rig will be one of the most advanced ultra deepwater drilling and completions units in the offshore industry, capable of drilling in water depths of up to 12,000 ft (3,658 m) and drilling to a total vertical depth of up to 40,000 ft (12,192 m). The rig will offer a variable deck load of 20,000 metric tons (22,046-ton), dynamic positioning in compliance with DPS-3 certification, expanded drilling fluids capacity, a 1,000 ton (907-metric ton) capacity top drive, and living quarters for up to 200 personnel. The rig will be modified from the original design to improve on its already extensive off-line operational capabilities.

Design modifications include the addition of a 160-metric ton (176-ton) active-heave compensated construction crane that allows the rig to perform subsea construction activities, such as the placement of production trees and manifolds in up to 10,000 ft (3,048 m) of water without obstructing the critical path of drilling deepwater wells, and an additional 2,000 ft (610 m) of marine riser. The unit will not initially be functional as a dual-activity rig, but can be modified to add this functionality in the future.

05/01/2008