June 5, 2019
Petrobras signs until the end of this month the charter agreement for the Laguna Star drillship, which will operate exclusively for the BM-S-11 project in the Santos Basin cluster. The directors of Shell and Petrogal – partners of the Brazilian oil company in the BM-S-11 consortium – have approved the contracting of the Constellation equipment, and the formalization of the agreement now depends only on contractual bureaucracies.
The charter was approved by Petrobras at the beginning of June and sent to the consortium partners for consideration. The drillship was offered by Constellation in a Petrobras bid that required a unit for operation in water depths of 2.4 thousand m. Commercial envelopes were opened at the end of March.
Constellation quoted the Laguna Star at U$ 160,000 daily fee. The proposal beat Transocean / Ocean Rig, Ensco, Seadrill and Petroserv offers, which had higher rates – some surpassing the $ 200,000 / day mark.
The Laguna Star is due to come on stream in November, being under contract for two years firm, with possibility of extension for the same period. By opting for the extension, Petrobras and Constellation may renegotiate the charter fee, as provided in the contractual terms.
The signing of the contract will mark the return of Constellation to Petrobras’ portfolio of drillships. The Brazilian group has maintained, for years, six drilling units operating simultaneously for the oil company, but had its last contract finalized in 2018.
The Laguna Star is currently operating for Enauta in the Atlanta field, also in the Santos Basin, and will be relocated to the BM-S-11 area – where it will carry out development campaigns – once the work is completed.
Until May of last year, the area counted with two rigs from the old Ocean Rig operating with exclusive dedication: Ocean Mykonos and Ocean Corcovado.
Source: Brazil Energy
