Sixth-generation ultra-deepwater drillship bought by joint venture majority owned by TotalEnergies will operate in West Africa after shipyard upgrade
Vantage Drilling International (VDI) reported the completion of the sale of the ultra-deepwater (UDW) drillship Tungsten Explorer to TEVA Ship Charter LLC, its joint venture 75% owned by TotalEnergies. Further details of the sale were not disclosed.
As revealed in previous announcements, the Oslo-listed offshore drilling contractor will continue to manage the sixth-generation UDW drillship for a 10-year term until Q2 2035 with the option to extend for an additional five years.
Tungsten Explorer is a DSME 12000 design built in 2013. With the sale complete, the UDW drillship is scheduled to move to the shipyard for upgrade and recertification. After which it is earmarked for operations for TotalEnergies in West Africa, according to VDI’s latest fleet status report.
In Q4 2024, it completed the sale of the jack-up rigs Topaz Driller and Soehanah to ADES for US$190M. VDI manages both Baker Marine Pacific 375 class jack-ups for the Saudi owner under a three-year management services contract.
Topaz Driller is under firm charter until the end of Q4 2026 to CPOC in Malaysia and Thailand, with options to extend until June 2027. Soehanah was due to come off contract with Indonesia’s MedcoEnergi at the end of July.
Contract for Shelf Drilling
As OSJ reported, ADES will acquire Shelf Drilling under all-cash agreement, which is set to close in Q4 2025. The Dubai-based driller has added to its backlog, inking a one-year charter for Shelf Drilling Winner with Tenaz Energy in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. Tenaz Energy could convert the contract to three years, if it exercises its option within the first six months of the contract. Shelf Drilling Winner will commence the campaign in October or November, after it completes its current contract in Denmark.
Offshore activity is scaling back up in the Dutch North Sea following the government’s decision to revitalise domestic gas production to cover the country’s natural gas demands to 2045. Tenaz Energy became the second-largest operator of natural gas assets in the Dutch North Sea earlier this year through its acquisition of NAM, formerly a 50/50 joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil.
Data from Westwood Global Energy’s RigLogix showed the number of contracted jack-up and floaters in the North Sea remained unchanged for the week of 11 August.
