Seadrill’s ultra-deepwater semisubmersible West Eminence has commenced drilling operations for Petrobras in Brazil. The rig was delivered from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea in March this year. It arrived offshore Brazil in June and has since been preparing for start-up of operations.
Seadrill’s West Eminence began working for Petrobras under a six-year contract.
West Eminence is chartered to Petrobras under a six-year contract for operations in the Santos Basin nearly 350 km offshore Rio de Janeiro. The commencement of this contract completes the delivery of the original eight deepwater rig newbuilds that were contracted in 2005 and 2006. It is the second deepwater newbuild delivered to Seadrill that starts on a long-term contract with Petrobras.
“We are proud of having successfully completed the commencement of operations for the original eight deepwater newbuilds over the last 12 months on five different continents. This concludes the first phase of developing Seadrill into a truly global offshore deepwater drilling contractor,” said CEO Alf C Thorkildsen.
The second phase of the deepwater newbuild projects consists of three rigs that are scheduled to be delivered between April 2010 and December 2011.
