Ocean Rig drillship to work for Statoil off Tanzania

Ocean Rig, an international offshore driller, has signed a drilling contract with Statoil for a one-well drilling program offshore Tanzania.

Ocean Rig said on Friday that the contract was expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018.

The company added that the drilling operations would be performed by the Ocean Rig Poseidon drillship.

The 6th generation deepwater drillship, of a Saipem 10000 design, was built in 2011 by the Samsung Heavy Industries Shipyard in South Korea. The rig has dual activity capabilities and is equipped for drilling operations in water depths from 500 to 3,000 meters.

The 228-meter long and 42-meter wide Ocean Rig Poseidon is a DP Class 3 rig that can accommodate 205 people.

Also, Lundin Norway declared a fifth option to extend the contract for the semi-submersible drilling rig Leiv Eiriksson, which is now expected to last until March 2018.

Ocean Rig granted Lundin two additional options to drill further wells in the future. Should Lundin exercise its remaining seven one-well options, the rig could be employed until the middle of 2019.

As a result of the new contract and the Lundin extension, the company has increased its estimated contract backlog by approximately $20 million.

George Economou, chairman and CEO, said: “We are excited that following the successful completion of our restructuring we have secured additional work for our rigs. Our strong balance sheet has increased our eligibility to participate in tendering activities for our clients and allows us to offer competitive solutions to selectively pursue the opportunities that make the most business sense.”