Seadrill has entered into an agreement for the construction of two jack-up drilling rigs with Jurong Shipyard (JSPL) in Singapore. The new units are scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter 2012 and first quarter 2013 respectively, and total project price is estimated at US$400 million, which include project management, drilling and handling tools, spares and capitalized interest.

In addition, Seadrill has option agreements for construction of further four (4) jack-up newbuildings with JSPL.

The two units, to be built at Jurong, represent the latest generation, high specification jack-up drilling rigs with greater capacities and capabilities than current conventional units. The units are based on the Friede & Goldman JU2000E design, and are suitable for operations world wide, including the southern North Sea. The units have the capability to operate in water depths up to 400 ft and drill to depths of 30,000ft and offer improved drilling efficiencies with off-line pipe handling, simultaneous operations support and increased accommodation capacity. These jack-up rigs will be the sixth and seventh rig orders that Seadrill has placed with JSPL, of which two are presently under construction.

Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer in Seadrill Management AS, says," These newbuilds are an important supplement that complements our present jack-up fleet. The orders position us for additional growth in an increasingly important market segment that can provide further opportunities and earnings growth for Seadrill. Including the recent acquisition of Scorpion, the company's fleet of jack-ups, constitutes the world largest modern jack-up fleet with a total of 16 units built after 2006. The acquisition further strengthens our position as the leading operator of modern, high quality drilling units."

Tags: Seadrill