Dragon Oil has awarded separate contracts for the lease and management of two 2,000-horsepower, platform-based rigs with specifications in the Cheleken contract area, Turkmenistan, a news release stated.

The contracts were awarded to international suppliers and are for two years with an option to extend the contracts for another year.

One of the platform rigs will be rigged up on the Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) A platform when the platform is ready for drilling in 1Q 2013; the drilling from this platform is to commence shortly afterward, according to the release. The other platform rig will be mobilized for drilling from the Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) B platform, expected to be ready in 2Q 2013.