Diamond orders moored semi for 2014 delivery
Diamond Offshore Drilling announced last week that a subsidiary has entered into a contract with Singapore’s Jurong Shipyard to build a moored semisubmersible rig with delivery scheduled for Q2 2014. The rig, to be named the Ocean Apex, will be capable of operations in water depths up to 6,000 ft. Design specifications also include a variable deck load of 7,000 long tons, a maximum hookload capacity of 2 million lbs, a 15,000-psi five-ram blowout preventer and crew quarters capacity for 140 personnel.
“We continue to see significant opportunities for moored deepwater units, as evidenced by the contract recently awarded to the Ocean Onyx, our other deepwater semisubmersible currently under construction,” said Larry Dickerson, president and CEO of Diamond Offshore. The Ocean Onyx was recently awarded a one-year contract by Apache Deepwater at $490,000/day; it will work in the US Gulf of Mexico upon its delivery in Q3 2013.
“This project marks the continuation of Diamond’s ongoing fleet renewal program, which includes four ultra-deepwater drillships and now two deepwater semis currently on order.” In January this year, Diamond announced its order for the Ocean Onyx at the Keppel AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Texas. In May the company entered a turnkey contract with Heavy Hyundai Industries for the construction of the Ocean BlackLion ultra-deepwater drillship, with delivery in Q4 2014.
“We will construct the Ocean Apex utilizing an existing hull from a Diamond Offshore cold-stacked unit. Upon delivery, we will have a rig that exceeds the specifications of a fourth-generation newbuild unit; however, it will have been constructed in approximately half the time and for a significantly lower cost. This addition to our fleet is consistent with Diamond Offshore’s long-term strategy of enhancing our fleet at attractive capital costs,” Mr Dickerson said. Total cost for the project is expected to be approximately $370 million, including commissioning, spares and project management, but excluding capitalized interest.
