Check out SembMarine's fatter and richer orderbook

Guess how much the estimated US$291.6m Prosafe contract will yield.

According to Nomura, Sembcorp Marine announced on the morning of 5 October that it has signed a letter-of-intent (LOI) with repeat customer Prosafe AS (PRS NO) to build an accommodation semi-sub, which is of similar design as the Safe Boreas currently under construction.

Here's more from Nomura:

In addition, SMM has granted two options for further new builds.

We believe the potential contract value would be close to the previous price tag of US$291.6mn for Safe Boreas which was signed in December 2011. This would boost new order wins this year to S$9.45bn (including Petrobras’ 5 drillship order), in-line with our forecast.

With the additional two options granted along with the LOI announcement, Prosafe now has three outstanding options with SMM, underpinning contract visibility for the rig-builder over the near term.

The potential contracts from Prosafe underscore the long-term growth potential of the accommodation rig market, a growing segment for established rig-builders such as SMM.