Order of new ultra deepwater drillships confirmed

With reference to the Letter of Intent, Aker Drilling, Stavanger, has through its subsidiary Aker Drilling Offshore Services Public Ltd. confirmed the turn key, EPC contract for construction of two ultra-deepwater drillships from Korean yard DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd).

The two drillships are to be delivered October and December 2013, respectively. Total project price per unit is estimated by Aker Drilling at USD 600 million including project management, loose drilling equipment, spares, and operations preparations. In addition, the contract includes two fixed price options for further two drillships to be declared within June and October 2011, respectively.

The dynamically positioned drillships will be the largest and most capable ultra-deepwater units in the market with a double derrick for efficient parallel operations, capable of operations in water depths down to appr. 3500 m and with drilling depths of over 12000 m. The units are designed for world wide operations in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, West Africa, India and the Far East.