Seadrill has signed a $400m agreement with Jurong Shipyard (JSPL) for the construction of two jack-up drilling rigs in Singapore.
The new units are slated for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2012 and first quarter of 2013 respectively.
The project include project management, drilling and handling tools, spares and capitalized interest.
In addition, Seadrill has option agreements for construction of further four jack-up new buildings with JSPL.
The two units, to be built at Jurong, represent the latest generation, high specification jack-up drilling rigs with greater capacities and capabilities than current conventional units.
The units are based on the Friede & Goldman JU2000E design, and are suitable for operations globally, including the southern North Sea.
The company said that the units have the capability to operate in water depths up to 400ft and drill to depths of 30,000ft and offer improved drilling efficiencies with off-line pipe handling, simultaneous operations support and increased accommodation capacity.