French energy company TotalEnergies and US-based offshore drilling contractor Vantage Drilling International have agreed to create a new joint venture (JV) to acquire the Tungsten Explorer drillship from Vantage.
Under the terms of the agreement, TotalEnergies will pay $199m to obtain a 75% interest in the JV, which will own the drilling rig, while Vantage will own the remaining 25% interest in the JV.
Building on Vantage’s offshore drilling experience and longstanding collaboration with TotalEnergies, the JV will award Vantage a 10-year contract to operate the Tungsten Explorer.
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “TotalEnergies is pleased to enter into this agreement with Vantage to take shared ownership of a drillship, the Tungsten Explorer, which we already used in exploration and development activities in Namibia, Cyprus and Congo.
“Through this innovative partnership, TotalEnergies will be able to hedge deep-offshore drilling costs: the JV will provide us with both value and flexibility.
“We look forward to continuing our journey together with the experienced Vantage team that will continue to oversee the rig’s operations.”
Tungsten Explorer is an offshore drillship built in 2013, with 42MW power capacity and 33MW thrust capacity and is designed to operate in a wide range of meteorological conditions.
The drillship is currently operating in Namibia on the Mangetti-1X well, using Excellium additives, a premium fuel developed by TotalEnergies to optimise consumption and reduce emissions.
With a hook load capacity of 2.5 million pounds, offline capabilities, and advanced Managed Pressure Drilling equipment, this drillship meets its future needs, said TotalEnergies.
Vantage Drilling International is an offshore drilling contractor that owns and operates a fleet of two ultra-deepwater drillships, and two premium jackup drilling rigs.
The company’s primary business is to contract drilling units, related equipment, and work crews primarily on a dayrate basis to drill oil and natural gas wells worldwide.
