Rig: Ocean Onyx

Diamond announces new 'Ocean Onyx' contract and sale of 'Ocean Spartan'

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (Diamond) has announced the signing of a new contract for its recently rebuilt ‘Ocean Onyx’ semisub. Upon completion of its current contract with Apache in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM), the unit will head to Trinidad to drill a single firm well for BG International, earning a dayrate of USD390,000. Diamond also announced the sale of the ‘Ocean Spartan’ jackup, the unit has been sold to India’s Mercator Limited (Mercator) who do not plan to use the unit for drilling operations. Mercator are believed to have purchased the 34 year old jackup rig for USD12 million. Meanwhile Diamond also announced delays associated with the delivery of two of its newbuild drillships, the ‘Ocean BlackHornet’ and ‘Ocean BlackRhino’ which were due for delivery in Q3 2014 are now expected to be delivered in Q1 2015.

Keppel AmFELS to Construct and Upgrade Deepwater Semisubmersible for Diamond Offshore for US$150 million

Keppel AmFELS LLC, a US wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has secured a contract from Diamond Offshore to construct and upgrade a moored semisubmersible rig with delivery scheduled for 3Q 2013. The estimated shipyard contract price is approximately US$150 million. The rig, to be named Ocean Onyx, will be constructed from an existing hull from a Diamond Offshore cold stacked unit, which previously operated as the Ocean Voyager. Keppel AmFELS' scope of work on the Ocean Onyx includes the reconstruction of the rig, installation of advanced equipment such as a modern drilling package, and installation of sponsons to the pontoons to enhance the stability of the rig in deepwater. The rig will be designed to operate in water depths of up to 6,000 feet and will have a variable deck load of 5,000 long tonnes, a five-ram blowout preventer, and quarters capacity for 140 personnel.