George Economou’s offshore drilling outfit Ocean Rig has announced several new contracts and extensions.
The company has been awarded a new drilling contract by Chariot Oil & Gas for a one-well program offshore Namibia utilising drillship Ocean Rig Poseidon. The contract will commence in the third quarter of this year in direct continuation of the current contract for the rig with Tullow Namibia.
. The contract will commence in the third quarter of this year in direct continuation of the current contract for the rig with Tullow Namibia.Ocean Rig has also entered into a LOI with an unnamed European oil major for a two-wells program, including two optional wells, for drilling offshore West Africa. The contract is also utilising Ocean Rig Poseidon and will commence immediately after the Chariot contract.
Meanwhile, Lundin Norway has declared their seventh option on semi-submersible rig Leiv Eiriksson, taking the contract through to December 2018. Lundin still has five one-well options remaining, which could see the rig employed through to the third quarter of 2019.
Ocean Rig also revealed it has concluded negations with Total E&P Angola to amend the day rate for their contract utilising drillship Ocean Rig Skyros to $573,000 per day.
Pankaj Khanna, president and chief executive officer of Ocean Rig, commented: “We are pleased with the progress of the floater market and expect further developments in the coming months that may increase the utilization of the Company’s drilling units into 2019. The conclusion of the Skyros discussions removes any uncertainties with respect to the Company’s estimated contract backlog and solidifies our strategic relationship with Total. We currently see higher levels of inquiry in the market that we expect will translate into higher utilization in the coming months for the overall floater fleet.”
