US-based contract drilling services provider Diamond Offshore Drilling has awarded a contract worth about $755m to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to build a new Moss CS60E design harsh environment semisubmersible drilling rig.
HHI said the drilling rig, which will measure 123m in length and 96m in width, can operate in waters 3,000m deep with a drilling range of 12.2km from the sea’s surface.
As part of the contract, which will also include spares, commissioning and shipyard supervision, HHI will deliver the rig by November 2015.
On the other hand, Diamond Offshore has signed a three-year drilling contract with a subsidiary of BP to use the rig for initial operations off the coast of South Australia.
Under the deal, the BP unit will use the rig by paying $585,000 per day as initial operating dayrate and is subject to upward adjustment for certain increased operating costs and equipment modifications.
Diamond Offshore Drilling CEO Larry Dickerson said the company and its predecessors have been active in Australia since 1982 and have drilled over 600 wells.