DRILLING & COMPLETION NEWS • DEPARTMENTS
Transocean ultra-deepwater drillship to drill offshore Mexico under $518 million contract
An independent operator awarded
Transocean a 1,080-day contract for a sev-
enth-generation ultra-deepwater drillship
in the Gulf of Mexico offshore Mexico.

Transocean will select the drillship from
among the Deepwater Invictus, Deepwater
Thalassa and Deepwater Proteus no later
than one year prior to the earliest date in
the commencement window. The contract
will contribute approximately $518 mil-
lion in backlog and is expected to com-
mence between Q4 2025 and Q2 2026. The
contractual dayrate is subject to a semi-
annual cost adjustment with a baseline
established on 1 July 2023.

“The fact that our customers are secur-
ing rigs well in advance of their programs
and committing to long-term contracts
clearly demonstrates the tightness of the
market," Transocean CEO Jeremy Thigpen
said. "Additionally, our ability to designate
the specific rig closer to the commence-
ment of the program provides us with
increased flexibility ."
Valaris set to reactivate DS-7 drillship
for 12-well contract offshore West Africa
Valaris was awarded a 12-well contract offshore West Africa
for the VALARIS DS-7 drillship, which will be reactivated for
this contract. It is expected to commence in Q2 2024 and has
an estimated duration of 850 days. The total contract value is
estimated to be $364 million. The contract requires minimal
customer-specific upgrades to the rig and does not include the
provision of any additional services.

This is Valaris' seventh floater contract since mid-2021 that
requires reactivation .

Signing the strategic partnership agreement were (front row,
from left) Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Executive Director, Low
Carbon Solutions and International Growth; Rovshan Najaf,
SOCAR President; and Nicolas Terraz, TotalEnergies President,
Exploration & Production.

ADNOC bolsters its international gas
footprint with investment in Caspian Sea
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is acquiring a 30%
equity stake in the Absheron gas and condensate field in the
Caspian Sea. ADNOC will own a 30% participating interest in
Absheron, with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and
TotalEnergies each holding 35% stakes. ADNOC’s investment into
the Caspian region aims to create a substantial growth position as
it enters the international gas market, and reinforces the energy
partnership between the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.

Entering into a strategic partnership with SOCAR also elevates
ADNOC’s long-standing partnership with TotalEnergies .

Tullow and partners begin production from
Jubilee South East project offshore Ghana
Tullow, alongside its joint venture partners Kosmos Energy,
Ghana National Petroleum Corp , Petro SA and Jubilee Oil Holdings,
announced the successful startup of the Jubilee South East Project
offshore Ghana. Two more producers and one water injector are
expected to come on stream this year to help sustain gross Jubilee
production over 100,000 bopd. This increased level of production
is expected to be maintained at Jubilee over the next few years
as multiple future drilling locations have already been identified.

'Clustered exploration' approach leads to
6 additional discoveries offshore Malaysia
PETRONAS Carigali has made six oil and gas discoveries in
five blocks off the coast of Sarawak, Malaysia: Gedombak in
Block SK306, Mirdanga in Block SK411 , Sinsing in Block SK313,
Machinchang and Pangkin in Block SK301B, and Kalung Emas
in Block SK315 .

The discoveries were achieved on the back of an intensive
domestic exploration drilling campaign commenced in late
2022, which had also led to the discovery that year of Nahara-1
in Block SK306, one of PETRONAS Carigali's most significant
oil discoveries within the last decade.

PETRONAS Carigali attributes these successes to its "clus-
tered exploration" approach, a unique style of prospecting
suited for highly matured geological provinces.

Borr jackups, Gerd and Thor, headed for
work in Middle East and Southeast Asia
Borr Drilling secured two binding letters of awards from
undisclosed customers for its premium jackup s Gerd and Thor.

The awards increase Borr's firm backlog by approximately 421
days, excluding optional periods .

Gerd will work in the Middle East under a contract with a
firm scope of 270 days and one unpriced optional scope of 60
days. Upon concluding its current contract with Addax in Q3 ,
the rig will undergo mobilization, statutory surveys and recer-
tification before starting its new commitment in December
2023. Thor will work in Southeast Asia under a contract with a
firm scope of two wells with an estimated duration of 151 days .

This contract is expected to commence in December 2023 in
direct continuation of the rig’s ongoing contact.

DRILLING CONTRACTOR • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023
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