Offshore Drilling: Transocean Reports Huge Contracts Backlog

Transocean Ltd. issues fleet update summary, new & changed contracts, OofS times, etc.

Total backlog associated with new contracts or extensions since the August 15, 2012 fleet update summary is approximately $1.7 billion.

Estimated out of service time for 2012 increased by a net 36 days, primarily due to unexpected repairs on a Harsh Environment semisubmersible. The increase in 2013 estimated out of service time of a net 151 days includes 86 days (57 percent) related to the acceleration of shipyards from 2014 and 45 days (30 percent) associated with the preparation of rigs for new or potential contracts.

The ultra-deepwater newbuild drillship, Deepwater Invictus, was awarded a three-year contract at a dayrate of $595,000 ($652 million contract backlog) and is expected to commence operations in the second quarter of 2014 upon delivery from the shipyard and customer acceptance. This vessel is currently under construction at the DSME shipyard in Korea and will be capable of operating in water depths up to 12,000 feet and drilling wells up to 40,000 feet deep. The newbuild will include a second blow-out preventer system requested by the customer for which the company will be compensated. The rig is one of two ultra-deepwater newbuild drillships acquired in the October 2011 Aker Drilling ASA transaction.

Transocean is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. The company specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services, and believes that it operates one of the most versatile offshore drilling fleets in the world.