Sources said that once an agreement is signed, ICBC Leasing would lease the rigs to Chinese contractor China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL) for operation. They added the agreement could also involve Cosco, which secured the speculative order to build the two rigs from KS Drilling in May 2011.
“No tri-lateral agreement has been signed so far,” said a source.
However, negotiations are progressing and COSL is understood to have dispatched a crew to Cosco’s yard in Nantong for rig inspection and delivery of the first unit, Orient Star 1, in May.
