Drilling & Completion News
Saudi Aramco to create onshore, offshore joint venture companies with Nabors, Rowan in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Aramco has signed agreements with Nabors Industries and Rowan Companies to create two joint venture companies focused on onshore and offshore drilling. The drilling joint ventures will invest between $6 billion to $7 billion to purchase onshore rigs and offshore jackups, manufactured by Saudi Aramco joint ventures, which are in the process of being set up. The joint ventures are expected to commence operations in
Q2 2017.
The onshore joint venture will combine Nabors’ and Saudi Aramco’s existing onshore drilling operations in Saudi Arabia. It will initially own 15 contributed rigs – five from Saudi Aramco and 10 from Nabors – and manage the remaining Nabors-owned rigs currently in Saudi Arabia, for a total fleet of 41 rigs. In addition, the joint venture has committed to a substantial order of newbuild rigs over a 10-year period.
The offshore joint venture will combine Rowan and Saudi Aramco’s existing offshore drilling operations in Saudi Arabia. It will initially own seven contributed jackup rigs – two from Saudi Aramco and five from Rowan – and will manage an additional four Rowan-owned jackups currently in Saudi Arabia. The offshore joint venture has similarly committed to acquire and operate newbuild jackups over a 10-year period.
Frigstad Deepwater to become CIMC Bluewhale rig
Frigstad Deepwater Holding, a subsidiary of Frigstad Offshore Group, has sold all of its shares in Frigstad Deepwater to a subsidiary of China International Maritime Containers Group (CIMC).
Frigstad Deepwater, which had been jointly owned by Frigstad Offshore Group and CIMC since 2012, has two 7th-generation ultra-deepwater drilling units of the Frigstad D90 design under construction at the Yantai CIMC Raffles shipyard in Shandong, China. The semis, Frigstad Shekou and Frigstad Kristiansand, are scheduled for delivery in Q1 2017 and Q3 2017, respectively.
As a result of the sale, Frigstad Deepwater will be renamed CIMC Bluewhale Rig. The operational management of the rigs will be taken over by Bluewhale Offshore, also a subsidiary of CIMC, and the rigs will be renamed Bluewhale I and Bluewhale II. A team from Frigstad Offshore will continue to supervise the construction of the two rigs until completion.
Aramco extends contract for Seadrill’s AOD II jackup
Seadrill has received a three-year contract extension from Saudi Aramco for the jackup AOD III expiring in December 2019. The extension will add approximately $112.5 million in contract backlog. This extension follows the three-year extensions of the AOD I and AOD II announced on 29 July 2016. The three units have been working for Saudi Aramco since 2013.
Noble, Shell amend three contracts for drillships
Noble Corp and subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell have agreed to amend existing long-term contracts on three ultra-deepwater drillships.
The contract amendments pertain to the Noble Bully II, Noble Globetrotter I and Noble Globetrotter II, which are operating under 10-year term contracts that commenced in April 2012, July 2012 and September 2013, respectively.
Under the agreements, dayrates for each rig are now determined by taking the higher of 1) a newly established minimum dayrate (or floor), or 2) the dayrate adjustment mechanism, as originally included in the contract. The contract amendments for the Noble Globetrotter I and Noble Globetrotter II provide for a dayrate floor of $275,000, representing a minimum market rate if the dayrate adjustment mechanisms for these two rig contracts stay below that level. The Noble Bully II contract contains a floor dayrate, which is $200,000 plus daily operating expenses.
The primary term for each of the drillships Noble Bully II, Noble Globetrotter I, and Noble Globetrotter II are unchanged, with contracts expected to conclude in April 2022, July 2022 and September 2023, respectively.
BP, Kosmos to partner in Mauritania, Senegal
Kosmos Energy and BP have entered into a partnership in Mauritania and Senegal. Under the terms of the agreement, BP will assume named operatorship and acquire a 62% working interest in Kosmos’ licenses covering blocks C6, C8, C12, and C13 offshore Mauritania, as well as an effective 32.49% working interest in the licenses covering the Saint Louis Offshore Profond and Cayar Offshore Profond blocks offshore Senegal.
Kosmos will maintain a 28% and 32.51% effective working interest in the licenses offshore Mauritania and Senegal, respectively, and will continue as exploration operator.
Additionally, Kosmos and BP have entered into an exclusive exploration partnership covering potential new venture opportunities in Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia.
