Offshore drilling company Seadrill said Thursday it had secured three contracts with "a leading operator" in the Middle East for three of its drilling rigs.
The contracts, with an unnamed client, are for the West Ariel, West Cressida, and West Leda jack-up drilling units.
The firm term of each contract is three years with an expected start between Q1 2023 and Q2 2023. The total contract value for the three rigs is approximately $404 million, including mobilization revenue.
Upon the start of the three contracts, Seadrill will operate seven units directly and have a further three units on a bareboat charter in the Middle East, the offshore drilling firm said.
Simon Johnson, Seadrill's Chief Executive Officer, said: "With our imminent re-listing in Oslo, news of this award confirms Seadrill's status as a preferred partner in a rapidly recovering rig market. Upon commencement of operations early next year, these rigs will add to Seadrill's strong market share in the Middle East, leading to significant economies of scale by clustering rigs of similar design in a market segment where we see strong signs of recovery and long-term demand."
This has been a busy week for Seadrill, in which it has secured contract awards worth over $660 million in total, including the deal announced Thursday for the three jack-ups.
Earlier this week, Seadrill secured contracts for two of its drilling rigs, the West Neptune and the Sevan Louisiana in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with LLOG and Talos, respectively, as well as a ten-well contract with options for up to eight additional wells in Angola for the West Gemini drillship, as part of a 50:50 joint venture with Sonangol.
Euronext Expand
In a separate statement on Thursday, released half an hour after the announcement of the jack-up contracts, Seadrill said its common shares had started trading on Euronext Expand (formerly Oslo Axess).
Simon Johnson said: "Seadrill's proven record of delivering safe and efficient operations to our customers globally is fundamental to our value proposition. We have the youngest, most technologically -advanced fleet in the industry operated by highly experienced crews.
"Our clean balance sheet, industry-leading backlog, and strategic partnerships across markets position Seadrill to create unique value in an offshore drilling industry undergoing transformation. I extend my gratitude to Seadrill's employees, customers, shareholders, and suppliers for their combined contributions in achieving this listing milestone."
Seadrill said it expected to uplist to the main market of the Oslo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange later this year.
Seadrill in February announced its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after completing its reorganization.
The company at the time said that the restructuring had significantly delevered the company’s balance sheet by equitizing approximately $4.9 billion of secured bank debt previously held across twelve silos, resulting in a streamlined capital structure with a single collateral silo. The company also said at the time it had raised $350 million in new financing under the plan.
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