Diamond Offshore jackup Ocean Titan was the low bidder on Part 1 of Pemex Tender 514-11 opened on July 5. The program calls for a 350-ft IC jackup for an 872-day contract starting August 13, 2011. Final award will be made July 19. The rig has been stacked in West Cameron Block 84 since mid-June after it completed a contract with ANKOR Energy. In Parts 2 and 3 of the tender, no bids were submitted for either; the requirements were voided and will be re-tendered at a later date.

 

ABS surveys and repair work have been completed on jackup Hercules 120, and the rig has returned to its contract with Chevron, moving to South Timbalier Block 37 late last week. The rig is under contract through the end of the year, with two 6-month options remaining. Jackup Hercules 204 has begun the final well of its contract with Pisces Energy, LLC. The well in Ship Shoal Block 227 is scheduled to take about 30 days, after which the rig will go to Stone Energy Corporation for a two well, 60-day contract. With all the work, the rig would next be available in mid-October. Breton Energy, LLC received its permits ...

ABS surveys and repairs on jackup Hercules 120 are now scheduled to be completed in mid-July, but the rig may not return to its contract with Chevron Corporation until early September or October. Chevron picked up the Hercules 201 as a substitute rig, and that contract will not be completed until early September if an outstanding 30-day option on the rig is not exercised. Hercules Offshore, Inc. says it will market the Hercules 120 to other operators during the gap should Chevron opt to not resume the contract in mid-July. The firm portion of the Hercules 120 contract does not end until December 31, but Chevron also has two, six-month priced options available should it choose to exercise them. Meanwhile, Rooster Petroleum, LLC will pick up jackup Hercules 150 for a 25-day well in Eugene Island Block 28 in mid-August. The rig will finish its current contract with Hilcorp Energy Company in late July, after which it has a 14-day shipyard stay scheduled. The new work now keeps the rig employed into the first week of September. Apache Corporation also has exercised an option to keep jackup Hercules 200 for an additional 60 days, with wells in West Cameron Block ...

Noble Drilling (U.S.), Inc. reported it has placed an order with Hyundai Heavy Industries for the construction of two ultra-deepwater drillships. The rigs will be built in Hyundai’s Ulsan, South Korea, facility, with shipyard deliveries scheduled for the second and fourth quarters of 2013. The delivered cost of each ship is expected to be $605 million, including the turnkey construction contract, company-furnished equipment, project management, and spares, but excludes capitalized interest.

 

The contract also includes a fixed-price option for up to two additional drillships, which must be exercised by early May 2011. The rigs are based on a Hyundai Gusto P10000 hull design and will be able to drill in up to 12,000 fsw. The units will have DP-3 station-keeping abilities as well as the ability to handle two complete BOP systems. The rig orders will increase Noble’s floating rig fleet to 26 units, 14 of which are kept in place via dynamic positioning systems. The initial delivery will be deployed on the recently announced five and one-half year contract Noble signed with Royal Dutch Shell. Operations will begin 90–120 days after delivery of the rig in the second quarter of 2013. The contract will be modeled on the ...

Energy XXI’s contract with jackup Seahawk 2602 will now extend through the end of September.  The original two-well deal in Main Pass Block 61 was expected to end in early September.  Meanwhile, jacking system and leg repairs to jackup Seahawk 3000 are now scheduled to be completed in early November.  Seahawk deferred a previously awarded, seven-day contract with Energy XXI and a 40-day deal with Badger Oil Corporation until the fourth quarter.