Pacific takes option on 7th drillship

Option: Samsung will build a seventh drillship for Pacific Drilling

Reuters/Scanpix

related stories

Luke Johnson

 16 March 2012 22:08 GMT

After delaying a decision multiple times, Pacific Drilling said it would exercise an option with Samsung Heavy Industries for the construction of a seventh ultra-deepwater drillship.

“The current strength we see in the market for ultra-deepwater rigs well into 2014 led us to act on this opportunity to order a rig with very favourable delivery timing,” Pacific Drilling chief executive Chris Beckett said in a statement.

The drillship will have a rated water depth of 12,000 feet, be equipped for drilling depths up to 40,000 feet, have accommodation for 200 personnel and be equipped to support dual gradient drilling.

Pacific will pay about $600 million for the ship with delivery scheduled for May 2014.

The rig owner will finance the…

Become an Upstream member!

Membership includes a subscription to our weekly newspaper providing in-depth news from the energy industry, plus full-access to this site and its archives. Still not convinced? Try our free trial.

Already a member?

Login

Upstream share price index