New drillship order

The contract is said to be valued at US$600m per unit and delivery is scheduled for the second half of 2015.

There are also options for delivery of a further two units for the first half of 2016.

Seadrill says that it has used the current weakness in the shipbuilding industry to order units at very attractive price levels.

The drillships will have a hook load capacity of 1,250 tonnes and a depth capacity of up to 12,000 feet – they will tasked with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and West and East Africa.

Seadrill currently has a fleet of 22 units, including nine drillships. It spent a significant amount of time analysing the ultra deepwater drilling market before making the order.

The operator says that ultra deepwater production is estimated to increase from 1 million to 5 million barrels per day over the next six years. To keep up with demand it needs to add additional drilling capacity.

It also says that older vessels are incapable of keeping up with the oil companies safety margins and requested deck load capacity – another reason for acquiring the new units.