Cyprus-based offshore drilling contractor Ocean Rig’s subsidiary has acquired the sixth-generation ultra deepwater drillship Cerrado for $65m.
The drillship was built at Samsung Heavy Industries in 2011 and sold through an auction. The company plans to pay for it with cash.
Cerrado was built to have similar design specifications as Ocean Rig’s existing sixth-generation drillships built at Samsung.
The new drillship is planned to be renamed the Ocean Rig Paros once it has been delivered.
Another Ocean Rig subsidiary has been acting as the manager of the drillship for its previous owner.
Ocean Rig said that the transaction will close upon concluding the judicial auction procedure.
OE said that the Cerrado drillship is a S10000E design and has the capacity to operate at a maximum water depth of 10,000ft.
The ship’s dimensions are 748ft x 137.7ft x 39.3ft and it can drill to a maximum depth of 40,000ft.
In August 2014, the drillship was selected by Petrobras to drill its first exploration well on the Libra prospect in the pre-salt area in the Santos basin offshore Brazil.
Ocean Rig provides oilfield services for offshore oil and gas exploration, development and production drilling, and specialises in the ultra deepwater and harsh-environment segment of the offshore drilling industry.
