Transocean pulls another rig out of the Gulf of Mexico
September 15, 2010
Transocean Ltd. is sending another rig out of the Gulf of Mexico – this time to Egypt – as a result of the federal moratorium on deepwater drilling.
The Swiss company, which has a significant presence in Houston, said the Discoverer Americas would depart next week.
The government’s six-month ban on U.S. deepwater drilling was implemented in late May after Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, resulting in the largest oil spill in U.S. history. BP Plc (NYSE: BP) had leased the rig from Transocean and has been largely responsible for the spill cleanup.
Norway's Statoil will pay $486,000 a day for the Discoverer Americas in Egypt, or $4,000 more than before, when the new five-month contract starts in October, according to a Reuters report.
The rig is then expected back in the Gulf of Mexico next March at the same rate.
So far, four rigs have been pulled from the Gulf due to the drilling ban.
Earlier this month, Transocean reported that its Marianas rig was bound for Nigeria, under contract by Italy's ENI, which is set to drill the Triton field.
In July, Houston-based Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) moved its Ocean Confidence rig out of the Gulf of Mexico to the Republic of Congo and its Ocean Endeavor rig out of the Gulf to Egypt.
In its fleet report issued Tuesday, Transocean (NYSE: RIG) also said that it yanked two of its shallow-water rigs off the market because of a lack of a demand.
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