Transocean delays two ultra-deepwater drillships

ZUG, Switzerland -- Transocean, the world’s largest offshore driller, has delayed delivery of two new ultra-deepwater drillships, the company announced Monday.

News of the delay came as the company announced winning new contracts worth about $109 million in its latest monthly fleet status update. The figure is more than twice that reported in May—$52 million—and about five times more than the $22-million average of the first five months of 2015.

According to the new report, Transocean amended its drillship construction contracts with Jurong Shipyard, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, by 24 months.

The two drillships are now expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, respectively.

Transocean also reported idling two more rigs—GSF Monarch and Transocean Spitsbergen—and stacking a third—GSF C.R. Luigs—which was previously idle.

In May, Transocean announced that it had amended its construction contracts with Keppel FELS to delay delivery of five new jackups. The amendment was in addition to a six-month delay announced in February.