Energy Drilling commences drilling for PTTEP

Energy Drilling’s first tender assist barge rig, EDrill-1, commenced its maiden charter with PTTEP Thailand on September 24, 2014. After deploying and pre-tensioning all anchors, the Drilling Equipment Set (DES) was lifted and assembled onto Bongkot WP-4 platform in 8 hours. The three (3) major heavy lifts consist of (1) Masterskids including shaker tank, (2) Drillfloor including drawworks and outboard cantilevers and (3) the 152 ft. Telescoping Mast. After the DES and third party equipment lifting was completed, the tender barge was relocated to the “Drilling Position” to raise and scope the Mast in preparation for drilling operations. . Within the first few days of operations, PTTEP arranged for a religious blessing ceremony to be held onboard the rig. Five Buddhist monks and one Imam were transported to the rig by a specially arranged helicopter. Operations were suspended and all non essential personnel were invited to attend the blessing ceremony held in the recreation room. After the ceremony, the monks and Imam walked the length of the deck and completed the ceremony. Lunch was served and the crews went back to work. EDrill-1 program on the WP-4 platform involves plugging and abandonment of four wells and re-entry drilling of six wells. Three wells had successfully been plugged and abandoned at end October.

Energy Drilling one step closer to securing contract for 'Edrill-2'

Energy Drilling Pte. Ltd. (“Energy Drilling”) is one step closer to securing a firm contract for its newbuild Edrill-2 tender rig following the announcement that the company has been issued a Letter of Intent to Award (LOI) by PTT Exploration & Production International (“PTTEPI”). PTTEPI intends to contract the unit for a firm 18-month period with options to extend the contract by up to 30 months to perform drilling operations on the Zawtika Development Drilling Campaign (Phase 1B + Infield Phase 1A + Phase 1C). The program consists of around 67 wells to be drilled from ten wellhead platforms in water depths of up to 160m. Commencement date is set for mid-December 2015 with EDrill-2 currently undertaking pre-mobilization inspections and third party equipment installations. Marcus Chew – CEO of Energy Drilling commented that, “We’re pleased to extend our relationship with premium client PTTEP and are eager to demonstrate our tender barge’s superior value creation potential to MOGE in Myanmar.”

EDrill-2 Arrives at First Location

EDrill-2 departed COSCO Shipyard on 29th November after pre-mobilization inspections and third party equipment installation to arrive at the Gulf of Mottoma location on 21st December. The rig has safely and successfully completed it's mooring system field tests and heavy lifting operations with the DES set up on the first Zawtika wellhead platform. The first well’s top hole section has been drilled, cased and cemented. EDrill-2’s light-weight Drilling Equipment Set (DES) erects in four lifts and is handled by a large radius, 400MT crane which allows the tender barge to orient favorably in prevailing sea states and to minimize vessel motions for quick and safe rig moves. Zawtika Development Drilling Campaign (Phase 1B + Infield Phase 1A + Phase 1C) consists of around sixty-seven wells to be drilled from ten wellhead platforms in water depths of up to 160m.

Seadrill Ltd sells T-15 tender rig to Seadrill Partners LLC

Seadrill has officially sold the tender rig 'T-15' unit to its sister company Seadrill Partners LLC for a total price of US$210m. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of May 2013 and is being funded by a loan which Seadrill is providing to its partner company. The unit recently begun a five year contract with Chevron in Thailand which will see it continue to be contracted until the end of April 2013.

Seadrill Ltd sells 'T-16' tender rig to Seadrill Partners LLC

Seadrill Ltd has announced that the company have entered into an agreement with Seadrill Partners LLC for the sale of the ‘T-16’ tender rig. Seadrill Ltd will sell the unit to the recently spun off Seadrill Partners LLC for a total purchase price of US$200 million, US$93 million of which will go towards the outstanding debt associated with the construction of the asset. The ‘T-16’ unit has a firm contract with Chevron running until December 2017 having begun working for the operator in September 2013. The sale of the tender rig follows the company’s sale of the majority of its tender rig fleet to SapuraKencana for US$2.9 billion in February 2013.

Energy Drilling secures financing for delivery of 'Edrill-1' and 'Edrill-2'

Energy Drilling has signed a US$175.5 million Senior Secured Term Loan Facility with a group of four lenders on Monday 7th April 2014. The four lenders are DNB Asia Ltd, ABN Amro Bank N.V, NIBC Bank N.V. and Clifford Capital Pte Ltd. The Facility shall be used as final payment upon delivery by Cosco Guangdong Shipyard for the first two tender rigs ordered in 2012. Delivery of the first unit is imminent and the second unit is expected in July. With the signing of this Facility, Energy Drilling is now fully funded to take delivery of the first two units and undertake drilling operations for the intended markets. Both units are being evaluated by various oil companies for drilling operations starting in the 3Q 2014. Speaking on behalf of one of the lenders, Mr. Magnus Piene, SVP & Global Head of Offshore for DNB Bank ASA, said, “ We are very pleased to be given this opportunity to raise funding for this exciting new company. Although Energy Drilling may be new, we have known and worked with its management team for many years in the past. We have full confidence in their ability to deliver and we look forward to building a long lasting relationship with them as they grow.” Mr. Marcus Chew, CEO of Energy Drilling, added, “We are thankful to the lenders for the trust shown in us. We have raised sufficient capital with strong shareholders and now with the funding secured we are ready to deliver the products to our customers. We look forward to an exciting journey ahead.”

COSCO delivers first tender rig to Energy Drilling

The Board of Directors of COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited (the “Company”) wishes to announce that COSCO (Guangdong) Shipyard Co., Ltd (“COSCO Guangdong”), a subsidiary of the Company’s 51% owned COSCO Shipyard Group Co., Ltd, has delivered a Self-erecting Drilling Tender Barge, to Energy Drilling. The delivery documents were signed by and between COSCO Guangdong and the buyer recently. The tender barge has a working depth of 2,000 meters, a drilling depth of 20,000 feet and is equipped with heavy lift cranes with a safe working load of 400 metric tonnes.

Keppel FELS to deliver 6th proprietary tender drilling rig to Seadrill

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) is on track to deliver West Vencedor, the sixth of seven KFELS semisubmersible drilling tenders (SSDT) to Seadrill Limited (Seadrill) before the end of 2009. The completion of this project on time and within budget, will top out a record year of 13 rig deliveries for Keppel FELS. West Vencedor is built to Keppel’s proven KFELS SSDT 3600E design which was conferred the ASEAN outstanding engineering achievement award in December 2009 for its eco-friendly features and sustainable operations. The vessel was named at Keppel FELS by Lady Sponsor, Mrs Maria Luisa Breisacher-Moshiri, spouse of Mr Alireza Moshiri, President, Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company. West Vencedor is expected to commence development drilling operations offshore Angola under a five-year contract with Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, in the first quarter of 2010.

Energy Drilling secures first contract for 'Edrill-1'

PTT Exploration & Production Public Co. Ltd (PTTEP) has executed an agreement fixing high specification tender rig ‘EDrill-1’ for a firm term of three years. The transaction was made effective on 1st August 2014 with the Bongkot Program commencement date set for October 2014. ‘EDrill-1’ was handed over to the Operations Preparation group in April 2014 and has been undergoing trial rig up and rig down exercises at COSCO Guangdong shipyard. The rig’s light-weight Drilling Equipment Set (DES) erects in three major heavy lifts and is ideally suited to the fast paced Gulf of Thailand infield drilling programs. Marcus Chew – CEO of Energy Drilling commented that “This contract marks the important first step for Energy Drilling towards establishing itself as a reputable provider of tender rig solutions. We are most honoured that it is awarded by PTTEP, a well-respected pioneer in the use of tender rigs in the Gulf of Thailand. We are confident that our experienced crew and superior design will result in consistent and optimal drilling performance for our client.”