Vantage Drilling close to securing US$80M work deal for ultra-deepwater drillship

Vantage Drilling is closing in on a work contract for one of its two owned, sixth-generation, ultra-deepwater drillships. The conditional letter of award for the deal, a precursor to a contract, has a 90-day validity period and is contingent upon approvals. 

Signed with an undisclosed client, Vantage said the contract value would be worth around US$80M with an anticipated 260 days of work to complete the drilling campaign, inclusive of mobilisation time, paid-for contract preparation time and demobilisation time.

"A material portion of the contract value, covering mobilisation and paid-for contract preparation, is reimbursed based on the cost incurred and a limited margin amount," the company said in a statement.
The CLOA will remain in effect until the eitther Vangage begins execution of the contract for services or the 90-day validity period expires, according to Vantage.

According to a Vantage specification, Platinum Explorer is an ultra-deepwater drillship, capable of operating in water depths of up to 3,000 m. The rig has a maximum drilling depth of 12,000 m.

Platinum Explorer entered service in 2010 and was built by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

In April 2024, Vantage said Platinum Explorer had begun a mobilisation from Indian waters to Labuan, Malaysia, where the rig was due to undergo its five-year special periodic survey, maintenance and be upgraded with a blow-out preventer. The drillship completed its six-year contract with Malaysian state-owned ONGC in February 2024.