Transocean Ltd. announced that a subsidiary has awarded contracts to Sembcorp Marine's subsidiary, Jurong Shipyard, in Singapore for construction of two newbuild dynamically positioned ultra-deepwater drillships. The two drillships are expected to be delivered from the shipyard in the second quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, respectively. The combined capital cost for the two drillships is estimated at approximately $1.24 billion including the shipyard contracts; project management; owner-furnished equipment; inventory and capital spares; but excluding capitalized interest. The payment terms for both rigs are very favorable to Transocean.
Additionally, Transocean has entered into an option agreement to order up to three additional drillships of the same design and specifications on similar terms. The first option must be exercised within one year, the second within 18 months, and the final within 24 months.
"These newbuild drillship orders highlight continued execution of our long-term asset strategy," said Steven L. Newman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transocean Ltd. "We are committed to reinvesting in our fleet through the addition of differentiated, high-specification and high-return assets that will appeal to a wide spectrum of our customers. We are very pleased to partner with Sembcorp Marine's Jurong Shipyard in this effort."
The drillships will be built based on Jurong Shipyard's proprietary Jurong Espadon III design and will possess advanced capabilities for highly efficient ultra-deepwater development drilling operations worldwide. Specially designed for enhanced drilling operations with state-of-the-art drilling facilities, a large moon pool to accommodate a larger riser angle, and a hull designed for superior motion characteristics, the drillships will also feature a large deck space with an enclosed riser bay, a flexible mud system for completion operations, and Transocean's patented hybrid power system for lower emissions and improved fuel economy. The dual-activity rigs are equipped with Dynamic Positioning Class 3 (DP-3) capabilities, and the drillships' 1,250-ton load path will enable operations in up to 12,000-foot water depths and drilling depths of up to 40,000 feet. The drillships will have accommodations for a crew of 220 personnel and will be initially outfitted with one 15,000 psi blowout preventer (BOP) with the ability to add a second BOP.
About Transocean
Transocean (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN) is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. The company specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services, and believes that it operates one of the most versatile offshore drilling fleets in the world.
Transocean owns or has partial ownership interests in, and operates a fleet of, 79 mobile offshore drilling units consisting of 46 high-specification floaters (ultra-deepwater, deepwater and harsh-environment drilling rigs), 22 midwater floaters and 11 high-specification jackups. In addition, including the newbuild drillships announced herein, the company has nine ultra-deepwater drillships and five high-specification jackups under construction.
About Sembcorp Marine
Sembcorp Marine is a leading global marine and offshore engineering group with 50 years of experience and proven capabilities in repair, specialized shipbuilding, building of high-specification jack-up rigs, fast-track construction of ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs, conversion of floating production and storage facilities as well as the engineering and construction of offshore platforms.
Headquartered in Singapore, it has a network of five shipyards in Singapore – Jurong Shipyard, Sembawang Shipyard, SMOE, PPL Shipyard and Jurong SML – with strategic presence spanning Indonesia, China, India, United Kingdom and Brazil. The Group’s 73.3-hectare Integrated New Yard @Tuas in Singapore has commenced operations in August 2013.
About Jurong Shipyard
Jurong Shipyard, a fully-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, is a leading shipyard offering integrated services and customised solutions in ship repair, shipbuilding, ship conversion, rig building and offshore engineering to a world-wide clientele. Apart from its proven track record in the building and servicing of jack-up and semi-submersible rigs, Jurong Shipyard is also a global leader in the EPC conversion of tankers to floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), floating storage tankers (FSOs) and floating production units (FPUs).