COSCO strikes US$500mln deal to build drillship

The vessel is designed to drill wells in international oilfields with high efficiency and safety in harsh environments.

COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited said on Thursday that COSCO Dalian Shipyard Co., Ltd has secured a turn-key EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract worth more than USD500 million with Dalian Deepwater Development Ltd to build an advanced and versatile DP3 deepwater drillship.

COSCO said the vessel, with a hull size of 291m by 50m, is designed to drill wells in international oilfields with high efficiency and safety in harsh environments and at ultradeep water depths up to 10,000ft (3,050 m) and drilling depths exceeding 30,000 ft (9,150 m).

The vessel is expected to have a separate production moon-pool and its variable deck-load capacity, deck space and cargo storage capacity will be the highest of any drillship ever built. The drillship will be upgradeable for enhanced well intervention capabilities, extended well testing and early field production with 1 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity.

The hull of the vessel and certain equipment thereon were originally built and installed by COSCO Dalian as part of a floating, production, drilling, storage and off-loading (FPDSO) unit for MPF Corp. Ltd which had sought bankruptcy protection in 2008.

The contract with Dalian Deepwater Development Ltd becomes effective on 20 July 2010.

Delivery of the vessel is expected in the third quarter of 2012.