Seventh-generation UDW Drillships Delayed For Better Market

Delivery of the Ocean Rig Crete and Ocean Rig Amorgos, the two newest vessels in the seventh generation of ultradeepwater drillships built by Samsung Heavy Industries for Ocean Rig UDW Inc., will have to wait until market conditions improve.

On April 27, 2015, Ocean Rig reached an agreement with Samsung to postpone the delivery of the rigs to first-quarter 2018 and first-quarter 2019, respectively. Both rigs were originally scheduled for delivery in 2017. The total project costs for the construction of each drillship were increased by $15 million, according to first-quarter 2015 results, which were released May 11.

In the second-quarter 2015 results released Aug. 6, George Economou, chairman and CEO of Ocean Rig, said, “We still believe in the long-term market recovery and in the solid fundamentals of our industry, but currently the market remains challenging. We are in the midst of a significant downturn in offshore drilling. The recent volatility in the price of oil and increased availability of drilling units do not allow a short-term market improvement.”

Although the company has 93% and 69% of its calendar days under contract in 2015 and 2016, respectively, adding more drillships to the company’s fleet at this time would put additional strain on its resources. The seventh-generation rigs would require higher day rates to cover the cost of capex and opex.

These rigs are based on an advanced Saipem 10000 design with dual derricks and BOPs to ensure optimal operating efficiency. The rigs are designed to operate in 3,658-m (12,001-ft) water depths and drill to 12,195 m (40,010 ft).

The derrick is an NOV Dual Dynamic Bottle Neck with a main static hook load of 1,270 metric tons (mt) and an auxiliary static hook load of 907 mt. The main drawworks are rated at 10,500 hp, while the auxiliary drawworks are rated to 7,500 hp. Both the main and auxiliary systems use TDX-1250 top drives, each with 2,680 hp.

There are six 7,500-psi NOV mud pumps and six 2,100-gal/min shale shakers. The BOP system includes seven NOV 18¾-in. 15,000-psi ram preventers and two 18¾-in. annular preventers. The choke manifold is rated to 15,000 psi working pressure, and the mud-gas separator has a gas-handling capacity of 566,337 cm/d (20 MMcf/d).

Each rig has accommodations for 240 people. The dynamic positioning system (DP Class 3) has proven station-keeping abilities under extreme conditions in harsh environments. There are six 6,705-hp thrusters. Each vessel has a riser tensioner with a capacity of 2,000 short tons.