The board of Red Emperor Resources NL has entered a letter of intent with Maersk to secure the Maersk Venturer ultradeepwater drillship to drill the Hawkeye-1 exploration well, the company said in a March 2 statement.

The Maersk Venturer was commissioned in 2014 and built at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in Korea. It has the ability to operate in up to 3,600 m (11,811 ft) of water and has dual drilling derricks, high capacity mud pumps and bed space for 230 personnel. The drillship recently completed work for Total Malaysia.

All required long lead items have been procured and stored in yards in Labuan, Malaysia. Drilling of the Hawkeye-1 exploration well is expected to commence in early third-quarter 2015.