Transocean has received a 1,080-day contract from an undisclosed operator for a high-specification seventh-generation, ultra-deepwater drillship in the Gulf of Mexico offshore Mexico.
The Swiss offshore drilling contractor will select one among its three drillships, Deepwater Invictus, Deepwater Thalassa, and Deepwater Proteus, for the contract.
The company would select the drillship no later than one year before the earliest date in the commencement window.
Transocean said that the contract will contribute around $518m in backlog, apart from the revenue for mobilisation and demobilisation.
The company intends to begin the work under the contract between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026.
The contractual day rate is subject to a semi-annual cost adjustment mechanism with a baseline established as of 1 July this year, said the offshore drilling contractor.
Transocean chief executive officer Jeremy Thigpen said: “This award is especially encouraging on numerous fronts. The fact that our customers are securing rigs well in advance of their programs and committing to long-term contracts clearly demonstrates the tightness of the market.
Additionally, our ability to designate the specific rig closer to the commencement of the program provides us with increased flexibility to optimize the utilisation of our high-specification fleet of ultra-deepwater drillships.”
Transocean is engaged in providing offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells, with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services.
It specialises in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business and operates the highest specification floating offshore drilling fleet in the world.
Transocean partially, or fully owns and operates a fleet of 37 mobile offshore drilling units, including 28 ultra-deepwater floaters and nine harsh environment floaters.
In addition, the company holds a non-controlling ownership stake in a company that is constructing one ultra-deepwater drillship.
Earlier this year, Transocean secured contracts and extensions representing around $488m for five of its drilling rigs, including its ultra-deepwater drillship Deepwater Invictus.
