Savanna Energy Services Corp. has signed a contract to expand its drilling operations in Australia. Savanna will deploy four Top Drive Single (TDS) drilling rigs to operate in Queensland for an existing customer to support their east coast LNG project. The new design TDS 2000 and TDS 3000 rigs are under multi-year take-or-pay contracts with the first rig expected to begin operations in Q1 2016. The capital cost of the four new TDS drilling rigs will be allocated to Savanna's 2015 and 2016 capital programs, and will aggregate $63.4 million.

"We see this latest contract award as further endorsement of the people, equipment and infrastructure we have introduced to Australia over the past 5 years," said Ken Mullen, Savanna's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to experience strong utilization of our existing equipment, are very focused on delivering the additional equipment contracted over the past year, and see strong opportunities for additional business growth in Australia in the future. Australia remains a strong diversification platform for Savanna, with market forces distinct from those currently impacting North America."

Tags: Savanna Energy Services Corp.