As drillship gets ready for its Brazilian gig with Petrobras, $500 million lands on Hanwha Drilling’s backlog

Offshore drilling player Hanwha Drilling, part of South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, has secured its first multimillion-dollar contract for a seventh-generation drillship, which will work off the coast of Brazil for the South American country’s energy giant Petrobras.

Hanwha Drilling, with its partner, Constellation Oil Services, a Brazilian drilling contractor, has won its first contract for the Tidal Action – formerly known as West Libra – drillship, worth approximately $500 million. The drillship, which is being reactivated in the Hanwha Ocean shipyard, will begin operations for Petrobras in the third quarter of 2025.

The rig will be deployed to the Roncador field in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil, thanks to this contract, which is expected to take 30 months and comes with some optional periods. Petrobras has decided to reopen this field to boost natural gas production. Located northeast of Rio de Janeiro, the Roncador field is forecast to produce around 1.7 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Hanwha Drilling’s confirmation of the deal comes after Constellation announced two major contracts with Petrobras, which are set to bring $1 billion for two ultra-deepwater drillships. The hired rigs are the Laguna Star drillship from Constellation’s fleet and the Tidal Action newbuild drillship owned by Hanwha Drilling.

Both are expected to work at the Roncador field in Brazil’s Campos Basin, creating 250 jobs and retaining as many for around 2.5 years. While the Laguna Star drillship, which will undergo adjustments and inspections before beginning its new contract, is already working for Petrobras, the Tidal Action rig will mark Constellation’s first time operating a third-party-owned unit.

The 2012-built sixth-generation Laguna Star ultra-deepwater DP drillship was constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea. The vessel can drill in water depths of up to 10,000 feet and has a drilling depth capacity of up to 40,000 feet.

Diamond Offshore, now part of Noble Corporation, struck a deal with the owner of the Tidal Action drillship a few months ago to market its rig in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Hanwha Drilling awarded Brazil’s Ventura Offshore the exclusive marketing rights for the same drillship two months later.

The rig was originally ordered in 2013 by Seadrill, but after the firm canceled the order, Northern Drilling disclosed a deal in May 2018 to buy the two rigs from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), now known as Hanwha Ocean. The firm ended up canceling the order for West Libra in October 2021.

Built in Korea by Hanwha Ocean, this rig is a seventh-generation ultra-deepwater drillship, which can undertake drilling operations in water depths up to 12,000 feet. With DP3-certified thrusters, large deck space, and load capacities, the drillship has dual derricks for increased drilling activity and efficiency.  

“Given the scope of work and timing, this contract is an ideal fit for the Tidal Action. Tidal Action will be managed by our partner, Constellation. We are excited to partner with Constellation with its history of operational performance, quality people and excellent relationships with its customers. We thank both Petrobras and Constellation for providing us with this significant milestone for Hanwha Drilling,” highlighted Hanwha Drilling.

Constellation, Kongsberg, and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) signed the approved in principle (AiP) for technologies aimed at the hybridization of the drilling player’s probes, reinforcing the Brazilian company’s commitment to reducing the impact of its operations in terms of sustainability, emission reduction, and energy efficiency.

Last month, Shell booked one of Constellation’s semi-submersible rigs for a short-term assignment in the Campos Basin off the coast of Brazil. The rig assignment with the oil major came months after the Brazilian firm inked a five-year deal with HMH to improve the operational efficiency of three semi-submersible drilling rigs.