Louisiana-based offshore supply vessel provider Tidewater has entered a $395-million agreement with HitecVision to acquire Troms Offshore Supply AS.
The purchase of the Norwegian company will add five large platform supply vessels and an additional PSV under construction at the VARD Aukra yard in Møre og Romsdal, Norway, to Tidewater's fleet. Troms Offshore also has an option available to build a seventh vessel.
Tidewater said the acquisition would expand its footprint in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea "and supplement Tidewater's experience and vessel fleet operating in harsh environments, including cold climates."
The purchase price includes $150 million in cash and the assumption of about $245 million in debt and the balance of payments for vessels under construction.
Fleets grow with new KFELS jackup deliveries
Keppel FELS has delivered the first of its KFELS Super A Class harsh environment jackups to Hercules Offshore-managed Discovery Offshore. DubbedDiscovery Triumph, the jackup was delivered 46 days ahead of schedule, Keppel said. The rig is one of two Super A Class jackups that Discovery Offshore is scheduled to receive this year. The Discovery Resilience is slated for delivery in 4Q 2013.
The high-specification jackup, designed for use in the UK sector of the North Sea, was customized to operate in 400-ft (122-m) water depths and to drill to a depth of 35,000 ft (10,668 m).
Hercules manages and holds a 32.1% stake in Luxembourg-based Discovery Offshore, which was established in early 2011.
Keppel FELS has also delivered theLaurus high-specification jackup to Mexican oilfield services company Integradora de Servicios Petroleros Oro Negro.
The KFELS B Class jackup will go to work for state oil company Pemex offshore Mexico. The rig is the second high-spec jackup that Keppel FELS has built for Oro Negro. The first was thePrimus, delivered in December 2012.
The KFELS B design can operate in water depths up to 400 ft (122 m) and drill to depths of 30,000 ft (9,144 m). Two such rigs – theTonala, operated by Peforadora Central, and the Ocean Scepter, operated by Diamond Offshore – are currently working offshore Mexico.
Keppel FELS is currently building two KFELS B Class jackup rigs for Pemex as well as another four for Grupo R and two for CP Latina, the company said. The Keppel AmFELS yard in Texas recently delivered a jackup rig to Perforadora Central, with another due for delivery in 1Q 2014.
Sembcorp jackup backlog builds
Sembcorp Marine's Jurong Shipyard subsidiary landed a $596-million contract with Noble Corp. for a newbuild ultra-high specification jackup to be deployed in the UK North Sea. The contract includes an option for an additional rig. Rated for harsh environment water depths of up to 150 m (492 ft), the rig will be based on the Gusto MSC CJ70 design and include an enhanced version of Statoil's Cat J specifications, Sembcorp said. The new jackup is scheduled for delivery in 1Q 2015. Noble currently has six F&G JU3000N class jackups under construction at Jurong at a cost of some $1.3 billion.
Sembcorp's PPL Shipyard received a $220.5- million jackup construction contract from BOT Lease Co., a leasing company of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Scheduled for delivery at end January 2015, the new rig will be built based on PPL Shipyard's Pacific Class 400 design. The high-specification jackup is capable of operating in depths of up to 400 ft (122 m) and can drill to depths of 30,000 ft (9,144 m). PPL has received orders for 12 Pacific Class 400 jackups and has delivered six since the series was launched, the company said.
Ensco orders eighth UDW drillship
Ensco has ordered an eighth ultra-deepwater drillship based on the Samsung GF12000 hull design, to be delivered by Samsung Heavy Industries in 3Q 2015. The $625-million deal includes an option for an additional GF12000 drillship.
The vessel will be dubbedENSCO DS-10 in keeping with the company's standardization strategy. ENSCO DS-8 and ENSCO DS-9 are scheduled for delivery next year; ENSCO DS-7, to be delivered later this year, will be under contract to Total into 2016. Ensco's four active DP-3 drillships are working in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and West Africa.
Atwood Achiever bound for Morocco
Kosmos Energy has inked a long-term rig agreement with Atwood Oceanics for theAtwood Achiever drillship, under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in South Korea. Kosmos plans to put the rig to work offshore Morocco soon after a scheduled June 2014 delivery. The initial three-year agreement includes a base day rate of $595,000 and an option to extend for an additional three years. Kosmos COO Darrell McKenna said the company was also "closing in on a rig of opportunity" in order to launch an exploration drilling campaign offshore Morocco in 1Q 2014.
