Seadrill ‘all in’ on deepwater drilling, adds US$1Bn in backlog

Seadrill Ltd is ‘all in’ on deepwater drilling following the completion of the sale of jack-up rig West Prospero for US$45M.

Seadrill president and chief executive Simon Johnson said the cash sale to an undisclosed buyer “monetised a non-core asset that has been stacked since 2016 and successfully executed on our strategy to exit the benign jack-up market.”

The 2007-built Mod V-B design rig has the capability of operating in water of 122 m depth.

The drilling contractor’s exit from the benign drilling market follows two recent separate contract wins from Petrobras for two of the firm’s ultra-deepwater drillships, West Tellus and West Jupiter, that will add nearly US$1Bn to its backlog.

In filings, Big Board-listed Seadrill’s West Jupiter was awarded a 1,095-day contract by Petrobras that will contribute approximately US$493M to its order backlog, including additional services and excluding a mobilisation fee of approximately US$32M. The drilling campaign is expected to start in Q1 2026.

Separately, the Brazilian oil major secured West Tellus under a 1,095-day contract for the Sépia and Atapu fields in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The contract contributes approximately US$498M to Seadrill’s order backlog, including additional services and excluding a mobilisation fee of US$41M. The drilling campaign will start in Q1 2026 and includes an optional period of up to 305 additional days.

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