West Polaris, ultra-deepwater drillship. Photo: Seadrill
Seadrill said Monday that it is in advanced discussions regarding a new five-year contract for its ultra-deepwater drillship, West Polaris. The company says the new contract will start in direct continuation of the existing assignment which is scheduled to be completed in October 2012.
The ultra-deepwater drillship was delivered to Seadrill in 2008 by Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries. Upon delivery, the West Polaris entered into a four-year contract with ExxonMobil for worldwide exploration activities and has been in mobilized offshore Nigeria since November 2011.
The potential contract revenue for the new five-year period is approximately US$1.16 billion and a final agreement is expected within July 2012, Seadrill says.
