Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has inked a contract to hire a long-idled ultra- deepwater drillship of US-based Transocean for $ 412,000 amounting to Rs 2.39 crore per day. The company has hired ‘GSF Explorer’ drilling rig for one year beginning July. GSF Explorer was built in 1972 and upgraded in 1998, is capable of drilling up to 30,000 feet in water depths of up to 7,800 feet.
ONGC hired drillship GSF Explorer after recently cancelling a deal with a rival driller. A contract to hire the rig was signed on May 24 ending months of re-tendering and negotiations between ONGC and Transocean.
In an initial tender floated by ONGC for hiring an ultra-deepwater rig last year Transocean had emerged as the sole bidder and offered a two-year contract at $ 601,000 per day, which ONGC felt was too high. ONGC re-floated the tender and ultimately selected Russian player Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka, the lowest bidder, which offered the drillship Deep Venture for two years at $ 399,000 per day. But the deal fell through because the Russian player did not submit performance bank guarantee and did not mobilize the rig on time.
| Company Name | CMP |
|---|---|
| ONGC | 283.95 |
| Oil India | 470.10 |
| Jindal Drilling&Inds | 540.15 |
| Deep Industries | 476.90 |
| Asian Energy Service | 306.05 |
| View more.. | |
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