Drillship picks up where it left off during suspension in Brazilian waters

A drillship from Ventura Offshore Midco, a subsidiary of the Brazilian deepwater offshore drilling contractor Ventura Offshore, has been cleared to carry on with activities off the coast of Brazil in the wake of a suspension.

Ventura Offshore’s DS Carolina drillship was subject to an order of interdiction in January 2025, which was received from the Brazilian National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) due to the latter’s view that certain emergency procedures used by the industry should be improved. At the time, the rig owner confirmed its constructive dialogue with Petrobras and disclosed expectations for the order of suspension to be lifted within a short time.

Regarding this order of interdiction for DS Carolina, the firm has now confirmed the resumption of activities after receiving approval from ANP to restart operations on Friday, February 28th. The rig is expected to reach its previous operational status between March 3rd and 4th, at which point it will resume earning its full operating rate.

Ventura Offshore remains in ongoing discussions with Petrobras regarding the financial impact of the suspension period. The company won a contract with the Brazilian state-owned energy giant last year for the deployment of its DS Carolina ultra-deepwater (UDW) drillship at the Sepia and Atapu fields in the Santos basin.

The 910-day firm contract term, worth approximately $363 million, can be extended for an additional 305 days, adding $113 million to the contract value if exercised.

The DS Carolina is a sixth-generation ultra-deepwater DP drillship capable of working in water depths of up to 10,000 feet (3.05 kilometers) and has a drilling depth capacity of up to 40,000 feet (12.19 kilometers).

Ventura Offshore and its subsidiaries manage one drillship, Zonda, own and operate another drillship, DS Carolina, and two semi-submersible drilling rigs, SSV Victoria and SSV Catarina.