Transocean Ltd. announced that the newbuild, harsh environment semisubmersible Transocean Norge was awarded a six-well contract (estimated 300 days) with Equinor in the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The contract is expected to commence in July 2019, following the shipyard delivery of the rig in early 2019.
Transocean will operate the Transocean Norge and has a 33% interest in the joint venture that owns the rig, with the remaining 67% interest owned by Hayfin Capital. The contract backlog is approximately $89 million, excluding a bonus opportunity and other services. The contract is denominated approximately 55% in U.S. dollars and 45% in Norwegian kroner.
Additionally, the contract includes four one-well options.
“We are very pleased to have so quickly secured a contract for the Transocean Norge, which we recently acquired through our joint venture with Hayfin,” said Jeremy Thigpen, Transocean’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This contract provides further evidence of the strong demand for high-specification, harsh environment semisubmersibles, and of the relationship and history of solid performance that we have with Equinor.”
About Transocean
Transocean (NYSE:RIG) 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 41 mobile offshore drilling units consisting of 23 ultra-deepwater floaters, 12 harsh environment floaters, two deepwater floaters and four midwater floaters. In addition, Transocean is constructing two ultra-deepwater drillships; and one harsh environment semisubmersible in which the company has a 33 percent interest. The company also operates one high-specification jackup that was under a drilling contract when the rig was sold, and the company will continue to operate the jackup until completion or novation of the drilling contract.
About Equinor
Equinor, is an international energy company with a proud history. Formerly Statoil, we are 20,000 committed colleagues developing oil, gas, wind and solar energy in more than 30 countries worldwide. We’re the largest operator in Norway, among the world’s largest offshore operators, and a growing force in renewables. Driven by our Nordic urge to explore beyond the horizon, and our dedication to safety, equality and sustainability, we’re building a global business on our values and the energy needs of the future.