Ocean Rig has bought the sixth-generation ultra-deepwater drillship Cerrado at auction for $65m.
The drillship was formerly owned by the Schahin Group, which filed for bankruptcy in April 2015 after racking up $2.12bn in debt.
Ocean Rig previously managed the drillship and said it will use “available cash on hand” to fund the acquisition.
The vessel itself was built at Samsung Heavy Industries in 2011 and will be renamed Ocean Rig Paros.
Cerrado had been on long-term charter to Petrobras at its Libra oilfield in offshore Brazil, where drilling commenced in August 2014. The contract was cancelled by Petrobras in May 2015, along with the contracts for four other Schahin drillships and semi-submersible rigs.
