Drillship Deepsea Metro I lands Petronas gig

Offshore drilling contractor Odfjell Drilling has secured new employment for the ultra deepwater drillship, Deepsea Metro I, through the signing of a conditional letter of award (LoA) with Petronas in Malaysia. 

According to Odfjell Drilling, the contract is for one firm well plus four optional wells, subject to successful completion of acceptance test. The area of operation is offshore Malaysia.

The contract is expected to take place late 2Q 2016. The contract duration for the drilling of the 1 well is approximately 60-70 days with an estimated contract value of $11-13 million.

Including the optional wells, the total contract duration could extend up to 245 days with an estimated total contract value of $46 million, the offshore driller explained.

Deepsea Metro I is owned by Golden Close Maritime Corp., a company owned by Deep Sea Metro, which is a joint venture between Metro Exploration (60%) and Odfjell Drilling (40%).

Odfjell Drilling is the manager of the vessel. The vessel was moved to Malaysia after completing its contract with Vietgazprom in Vietnam in January 2016.

To remind, the drillship started the contract with Vietgazprom in blocks 130 and 131 in August 2015. The rig secured more work in November when Vietgazprom exercised the first well test period with an end date in January 2016.