Transocean Operations Find More Work In Australia, Norway

Transocean on Wednesday revealed contract fixtures for two of its harsh environment semi-submersible rigs, which accounted for a backlog of firm orders totaling around $113 million.

CEO of Transocean Jeremy Thigpen made the following observation: “These fixtures represent additional evidence of the strength of this cyclical recovery, notably for our harsh environment assets.”

The company said that a multi-well plug and abandonment contract in Australia with an unnamed independent operator was given to the Transocean Endurance rig.

It is anticipated that the 240-day contract will begin in January 2024.

According to Transocean, the contract will provide around $91 million in backlog, excluding costs for mobilisation, and it also offers a number of alternatives that might keep the rig in Australia until the fourth quarter of 2025.

Transocean Endurance, a semi-submersible rig built in 2015, is based on the GVA 4000 NCS design.

130 persons can be accommodated there. The rig can drill down a maximum of 27,887 feet.

The company emphasises that Wintershall Dea exercised a one-well option on the Transocean Norge rig for operations in Norway in relation to the contract extension for another rig.

This is anticipated to start in May 2023, 60 days ahead of the current fixed term, and add around $22 million to the backlog.

After two oil and gas companies, Wintershall Dea and OMV, entered into an exclusive partnership with Transocean for the use of this rig for the drilling of all firm and additional potential wells in the years 2023 to 2027, the rig secured a 17-well contract in Norway at day rates ranging from $350,000 to $430,000 back in September 2022.

The Jurong Shipyard in Singapore built the Transocean Norge sixth-generation Moss Maritime CS60 semi-submersible rig.

The maximum drilling depth of this rig, which has a 150-person capacity, is 40,000 feet.

“Coupled with the awards for the Transocean Enabler and Transocean Encourage that were recently announced, we have added an incremental $494 million in backlog from our high-specification harsh environment fleet,” concluded Thigpen.

The Transocean Enabler rig received a drilling assignment in the Johan Castberg field, while Equinor gave Transocean's Transocean Encourage rig further work, primarily for activities in the Norwegian Sea.