On May 17, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. entered into an agreement whereby the operator will contract newbuild drillships Ocean BlackHawk and Ocean BlackHornet for five-year terms starting in late 2013 and early 2014. The rigs are currently being built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries yard in South Korea. The two contracts will generate a total of $1.8 billion in revenue for Diamond. In addition, both companies agreed to dismiss all claims relating to Anadarko’s 2010 force majeure declaration on semi Ocean Monarch. Diamond disputed the claim, and the two parties had been in discussions for the past several months. Following this announcement on May 19, Diamond reported it had exercised an option with Hyundai Heavy Industries to build a third Gusto P-10000 design drillship at an estimated cost of $614 million. The rig will be rated to drill in up to 12,000 fsw and will have dual activity capability, a seven-ram blowout preventer, and a maximum hookload capacity of 1,250 tons. Delivery of the yet to be named unit is scheduled for the second quarter of 2014. The order now gives Diamond eight rigs that will be able to drill in at least 10,000 fsw.
Jackup Hercules 173 is now under tow to the Gulf Copper facility in Galveston, Texas, where it will undergo its ABS five-year survey. Operations are expected to last around 30 days, after which it will return to its contract with Chevron Corporation, which runs through the end of the year. Reports indicate that Energy XXI will pick up jackup Hercules 205 for a term contract starting around June 1. Additional details are currently unknown but will be reported as they become available. The rig is currently working in Brazos Block 375 for Hilcorp Energy.
Market reports are that Ensco, PLC may sell an undetermined number of jackups once its acquisition of Pride International, Inc. is completed May 31. As for the remainder of the Pride fleet, it is understood new rig names have been determined and that the jackup and semi renaming will fall within the numbering system currently used by Ensco, but that the seven-rig drillship fleet will be designated differently. Meanwhile, Ensco has secured a four-workover contract with W&T Offshore for idle jackup ENSCO 99. The rig has been undergoing spud can inspections since it completed a contract with ExxonMobil just over a week ago. It is expected the rig will move to location in West Delta Block 29 later this week and is now next available in mid-August.
Jackup Rowan Gorilla II completed its contract with Energy Resource Technology in Eugene Island Block 391. At present, Rowan does not have any follow-up work in place for the rig, and it has been hot stacked in Sabine Pass.