Transocean: Chevron Terminating Contract for Discoverer Clear Leader Drillship

Discoverer Clear Leader. File Photo

Offshore drilling rig provider Transocean has announced that Chevron has given notice that it will terminate the contract for the ultra-deepwater drillship Discoverer Clear Leader nearly a year ahead of schedule.

Transocean said Thursday that Chevron elected to exercise its contractual option to terminate the drilling contract early. The contract will be terminated as of November 2017, eleven months prior to its expiration in October 2018.

Tranocean said that in according with the contract terms, the company will be compensated through a lump sum payment of approximately $148 million in early termination fees. The sum represents the present value off the operating day rate less the operating costs per day. The company said it expects to receive the payment no later than the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Discoverer Clear Leader entered into service in 2009 and starting working for Chevron in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico beginning in November 2014, right as the price of crude oil began crashing.

According to Tranocean’s most recent Fleet Status Report, Discoverer Clear Leader was contracted to Chevron at a dayrate of $575,000.

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