BP takes Transocean floater rig for multi-year Gulf of Mexico work with $531 million price tag

Switzerland-based offshore drilling contractor Transocean has landed a new long-term ultra-deepwater drillship assignment in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with the UK-headquartered energy giant BP.

The new 1,095-day contract with BP for Transocean’s Deepwater Invictus drillship is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2025 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. This deal is estimated to contribute approximately $531 million in backlog, excluding additional services and a mobilization fee.

The rig owner also recently won a 40-day contract extension with an undisclosed operator for the floater in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. This rig has another potential gig lined up in Mexico for 2026, as Transocean may designate by February 1, 2025, one of five drillships to the contract, including Deepwater Invictus, Deepwater Asgard, Deepwater Conqueror, Deepwater Proteus, or Deepwater Thalassa.

The commencement window is from February 1, 2026, to September 1, 2026. The 2014-built Deepwater Invictus DSME 12000 ultra-deepwater drillship can operate at 12,000 feet of water depth and drill to depths of 40,000 feet. This rig can accommodate 200 people.

Transocean’s aggregate incremental backlog associated with two contracts and six extensions, obtained in Q2 2024, is around $656 million, putting the firm’s total backlog up to around $8.8 billion as of July 24, 2024.

The rig deal with the offshore drilling heavyweight comes on the heels of BP’s final investment decision (FID) for its sixth-operated project in a prolific high-margin basin in U.S. waters.

This is said to be the UK oil major’s first development in the Gulf of Mexico to produce from reservoirs requiring well equipment with a pressure rating of up to 20,000 pounds per square inch (20K).