Pride International has ordered a fifth ultra-deepwater drillship from Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) of South Korea.
The expected construction cost of the rig, including commissioning and system-integrated testing and project management, will be some $600million.
The agreement with SHI includes an option for a second unit on similar terms and conditions, which could be exercised during Q1 this year.
As with the prior four vessels ordered by the American company since 2007, the fifth unit was been negotiated as a fixed-price package with delivery scheduled for mid-2013.
Like its sisters, this ship will be equipped with some of the most technically sophisticated well construction technologies available, including advanced systems for hoisting, blow-out preventer (BOP) handling, drilling and mud controls, and station-keeping.
The latest commitment by Pride is based on an SHI proprietary hull design measuring 246m (750ft) length overall by 46m (140ft) breadth.
It is designed for drilling in water depths up to 3,658m (12,000ft), with a total vertical drilling depth to 13,122m (40,000ft), and will offer a payload of more than 20,000 tonnes and a 1,250-tonne hoisting system.
The rig’s design and capabilities, which include a dual derrick, allow for overlapping well construction and field development activities, an approach that is now standard aboard modern mobile offshore drilling units.
Pride’s latest vessel will be equipped a set of six 5.5megawatt azimuthing thrusters and will be rated dynamic positioning Class-3.
It will feature expanded drilling fluids capacity, a 15,000psi (pounds per square inch) subsea well control system and upgraded system handling,
Pride’s president/CEO, Louis Raspino, said the order was “highly opportunistic” and had taken advantage of attractive new construction pricing and payment terms.
He said: “The expansion of our deepwater fleet allows us to more effectively address the increasingly complex well construction needs of our clients, with many featured systems on our new unit superior to those included on most other newbuild drillships, while building the critical mass that we believe is necessary to effectively compete and achieve success in the deepwater drilling sector.
“The long-term outlook for the deepwater drilling sector is expected to remain fundamentally strong, supported by a continuation of record geologic success, increased expansion by clients into new emerging locations and growing preference by many clients for the industry’s most advanced, efficient and safe drilling rigs.
“A continuing shift toward field-development programmes, new technologies that improve the recovery rates from deepwater reservoirs and an environment of sustainable crude oil prices that is supported by growth among numerous global economies also supports such a view.
“Given the long-term visibility afforded by these sector attributes, we are increasingly confident that additional deepwater capacity will be required by our clients as we advance through the next decade.”
Meanwhile, Seadrill of Norway has taken delivery of the new jack-up drilling rig West Juno from Keppel FELS Yard in Singapore, which built the rig as a twin to its West Callisto jack-up.
West Juno is the sixth Keppel FELS B-Class rig to be constructed for the company. The rig features offline pipe handling and stand building, enhanced mud systems, improved deck layouts and greater capacities compared to previous jack-up generations.
Another Norwegian company, this time newly-created Prospector Offshore Drilling, has ordered a pair of jack-ups from Dalian Shipbuilding (DSIC) of China.
The cost of the two Friede & Goldman (F&G) JU-2000E units is stated to be $400million for the pair, with deliveries set for Q4 2012 and Q1 2013.
There are options for three further units, which would bring the overall price tag to around $1billion.
Noble Corporation of the US has also ordered F&G jack-ups of the same class as those ordered by Prospector, but enhanced and designated JU-3000N. Noble already has three JU-2000E units.
The price tag for the latest pair to be built at the Jurong yard is $220million each. Deliveries are scheduled for Q4 2012 and Q2 2013.
Noble holds options for another four JU-3000N rigs, again at $220million apiece.
The exercise deadline for the options is January 1 next year, with deliveries up to Q2 2015.