Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has secured a contract extension for its Deepwater Asgard drillship with Hess Corporation for operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The 365-day contract extension for Deepwater Asgard is valued at $195 million. It includes a $10.9 million lump sum payment, which is not included in the estimated backlog of approximately $184 million.
The program is expected to start in June 2024 in direct continuation of the rig’s current program and includes additional services.
The drillship has been on a dayrate $440,000 in U.S. Gulf of Mexico under contract with Hess Corporation which expired in April 2024, up from $395,000 paid under previous contract.
Deepwater Asgard, built in 2014, is an ultra deepwater drillship of DSME 12000 design. With a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 ft, the rig is able to operate in water depths of up to 12,000 ft, and can accommodate 200 people.