Transocean to operate drillship for Mitsui and Petrobras

Transocean will operate a new deep-water drillship currently being built under a joint venture between Japan's Mitsui and Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras.
The dynamically positioned Samsung TBN-1 drillship is being built at Samsung Heavy Industries' Geoje yard in South Korea. It will provide drilling services under a 50/50 joint venture called P&M Drilling International. The drillship, costing $ 750 mm, has been dubbed the Petrobras 10,000 and is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2009.

The drillship will have a variable deck-load of over 20,000 tons and the capability of development and exploration drilling in greater than 10,000 feet of water depth, upgradeable to 12,500 feet of water depth and 37,500 feet of total drilling depth with additional equipment.
In conjunction with the capital lease contract, subsidiaries of Petrobras and Transocean have entered into a 10-year drilling contract covering worldwide operations with an option by Petrobras to extend the term of the drilling contract by up to an additional 10 years. The capital lease contract has a 20-year term, after which Transocean will have the right and obligation to buy the drillship for $ 1.

The estimated contract revenues are before taxes, which will be paid by Transocean and fully reimbursed by Petrobras. If the rig is operating in a jurisdiction where the company has a valid dual activity patent, an additional 5 % royalty would be paid to Transocean.
The unit will start its life working for Petrobras in Angolan and Nigerian waters, and will be operated by a subsidiary of Transocean.

The question of which company will operate the rig has been under negotiation for several months. At one time, Brazilian rig company Schahin Engenharia seemed close to an equity agreement, but no deal was concluded.
Petrobras will build a second rig in its 10,000 series at the same yard, but does not have an equity partner in place. The second rig will be used in the Gulf of Mexico, but is not yet clear which rig company will operate the unit and under which terms.