H&P to build 8 new FlexRigs to drill onshore US
Helmerich & Payne has signed contracts to build and operate eight new FlexRigs. These rigs will be built and operated in the US under multi-year term contracts. Since March 2010, the company has announced contracts for the construction of 31 new build FlexRigs, 17 of which have been completed. The remaining 14 rigs are expected to be delivered during 2011.
“As the industry continues to shift its focus to oil and liquids-rich targets that require increasingly complex well designs, modern AC-Driven rigs remain in high demand,” said H&P president and CEO Hans Helmerich.
Rig utilization for the company’s US land segment was 84% for this year’s first fiscal quarter, compared with 62% for last year’s first fiscal quarter and 82% for last year’s fourth fiscal quarter. As of 31 December 2010, the company’s US land segment had 193 contracted rigs and 37 idle rigs. The 193 contracted rigs included 130 rigs under term contracts.
