Seadrill Orders Pair of High Spec Jack-Ups From Dalian

Seadrill announced today they have ordered two high specification jack-up drilling rigs to be built at China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC).

At a total project price is approximately US$230 million, these two new units will be based on the Friede & Goldman JU2000E design, with water depth capacity of 400ft and drilling depth of 30,000ft.  With this order, Seadrill has six jack-ups under construction at DSIC Offshore of which two are scheduled for delivery in 2013 and four in 2015.  

Fredrik Halvorsen, Chief Executive Officer of Seadrill Management Ltd, says in a comment,

“The two jack-up newbuilds are ordered in-line with our customers preference for high specification jack-up drilling rigs and a strengthening jack-up drilling market. We continue to see solid demand for this asset class with both dayrates and contract duration increasing. These two new orders will increase Seadrill’s jack-up fleet to 28 units and strengthen our position as the largest operator of modern high specification drilling units.”

In a phone call with Robert Jensen, Partner at RS Platou Markets, he notes that, “while day rates for the floater market have flattened out a bit, the jack-up market continues to show strength, particularly in the UK North Sea.  Other areas of growth include the Middle East with Saudi Aramco and offshore Mexico.  Incremental growth is also being seen in Southeast Asia.”