Prospective acreage: ExxonMobil reportedly looking for Arctic drillship.
ExxonMobil in Arctic rig hunt
US supermajor ExxonMobil is looking to sign a contract for a Transocean rig capable of drilling in Arctic waters that will cost up to $1 billion to build, according to a person familiar with the rig.
The new rig could be deployed to places such as Greenland, Iceland or offshore Alaska, and command a rate in the range of the record $650,000 per day that Transocean, the largest offshore rig contractor, secured in mid-2008 for a five-year deep-water contract that starts next month, the person said in a Reuters report.
A final decision on the new drillship had been expected last month, but ExxonMobil was busy working out its $30 billion deal to buy US unconventional specialist XTO Energy, the person added.
Transocean boss Bob Long had said in September, without giving details, that his company could announce a new arctic-class rig with a contract by the end of last year.
A few analysts, after meeting Transocean management late last year, put the cost of the rig at somewhere approaching $1 billion.
An ExxonMobil spokeswoman and a Transocean spokesman both declined to comment.