Singapore’s Energy Drilling (EDrill) has partnered up with Chinese manager of idle offshore assets, SinoOcean, to offer more drilling rigs to the international market.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at capitalising on the strong market dynamics in the oil and gas sector by pooling resources and expertise to win new contracts for SinoOcean’s rigs.
SinoOcean, established by the Chinese state to manage and market abandoned offshore assets, has been sitting on a diverse portfolio of drilling rigs, spanning from shallow water to deepwater. The company had last year teamed up with Energy Drilling on the deployment of the semisub tender rig for PTTEP International, and the partnership is now being extended to market SinoOcean’s rigs in previously untapped regions.
The MoU outlined several areas of cooperation, including joint marketing efforts, operational optimisation, and technological innovation.
Pioneer Logistics-backed Energy Drilling has been expanding its operations in the tender drilling rig arena, which was last year marked by taking ownership of three Seadrill rigs the company had previously managed for the New York- and Oslo-listed offshore driller.
The company’s chief executive, Marcus Chew, said the deal with SinoOcean was “a testament to the trust” the asset manager has in the brand of Energy Drilling to help market and ultimately operate their units in the international market.
