Diamond Offshore Orders New $755 Million Semi, Signs Contract with BP

Image courtesy Moss Maritime

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE: DO) signed an agreement today with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. to build a new Moss CS60E design, harsh environment semisubmersible drilling rig. The 10,000’ dynamically positioned rig is expected to be delivered after November 2015 at a total cost of approximately $755 million.

In conjunction with this newbuild order, Diamond signed a 3-year contract with BP for initial use of the rig off the coast of South Australia at a day rate of $585,000 per day.

“We are pleased to have been selected by BP for this important work,” commented Larry Dickerson, Diamond Offshore’s CEO. “Our Company, and its predecessors, have been continuously active in Australia since 1982, drilling over 600 wells; far more than any other drilling contractor. We believe that this market-leading experience should enable Diamond Offshore to play a key role in our customer’s exploration efforts and we look forward to this opportunity.”

Diamond Offshore’s fleet of offshore drilling rigs consists of 30 semisubmersibles, seven jack-ups and one drillship, in addition to four ultra-deepwater drillships and three deepwater semisubmersibles currently under construction.

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