The West Polaris drillship will be sold when Seadrill Operating LP will acquire all shares of Seadrill Polaris Ltd., which owns it, parent company Seadrill Ltd. said June 17.
West Polaris is a sixth-generation ultradeepwater drillship currently contracted to ExxonMobil in Angola at a US$653,000 day rate under a contract that expires in March 2018. Seadrill Polaris will pay Seadrill any day rate more than US$450,000 for the remainder of the ExxonMobil contract. Half of any day rate above US$450,000 will be given to Seadrill after the contract concludes, until 2025.
The board of directors estimates the total value of the deal at about US$750 million. Of that amount, US$204 million is in cash, and US$336 million is outstanding debt under the facility financing West Polaris. The transaction is scheduled to close within one week, Seadrill added.
The transaction will increase distribution coverage, asset diversification and revenue backlog.
Seadrill Ltd. is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Recommended Reading
US Raises Crude Production Growth Forecast for 2024
2024-03-12 - U.S. crude oil production will rise by 260,000 bbl/d to 13.19 MMbbl/d this year, the EIA said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Chevron Hunts Upside for Oil Recovery, D&C Savings with Permian Pilots
2024-02-06 - New techniques and technologies being piloted by Chevron in the Permian Basin are improving drilling and completed cycle times. Executives at the California-based major hope to eventually improve overall resource recovery from its shale portfolio.
Help Wanted (Badly): Attracting Workers to Energy is Becoming Difficult
2024-03-27 - Attracting workers to the energy industry is becoming a difficult job, despite forecasted growth in the industry.
The OGInterview: How do Woodside's Growth Projects Fit into its Portfolio?
2024-04-01 - Woodside Energy CEO Meg O'Neill discusses the company's current growth projects across the globe and the impact they will have on the company's future with Hart Energy's Pietro Pitts.
Pemex GoM Oil Platform Blaze Leaves One Dead, 13 Injured
2024-04-08 - A Coter contract worker died from a fire that broke out at Pemex’s Akal-B platform this weekend that also left several others in serious condition, the company said.