By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 1 -- Chevron Corp. awarded Transocean Inc., Houston, a deepwater drilling contract requiring construction of an enhanced version of Transocean's Enterprise-class drillship, dedicated to Chevron's use for up to 5 years.
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. will build the $670 million dynamically positioned, double-hull drillship in Okpo, South Korea. The rig will have a variable deckload of more than 20,000 tons.
It will allow for parallel drilling operations and will have a larger, stronger, more efficient top drive than conventional rigs, enabling wells to be drilled to 40,000 ft TD in 12,000 ft of water, TransOcean said.
Chevron has the right to convert the 5-year contract to 3 years if declared by September 2007. Revenues generated during a 5-year contract period are estimated at $862 million, or $609 million for 3 years.
The contract commencement date is scheduled for early 2010, and Chevron will take delivery in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the second drillship construction contract has Chevron awarded Transocean this year (OGJ, Mar. 6, 2006, Newsletter).
