Replies to post #952 on Vantage Drilling Company Common Shares (VTGDF)

[Alpha1974]

Thanks for the heads up, looking forward to the 10Q filing, to get the nuts and bolts for VDC.

But good to hear 2016 is gone, maybe they can turn it around in 2017!

[luvgrowth]

GOOD NEWS: Rig contractors close to three-year ONGC deals

Seadrill, Singapore’s Vantage and Brazil’s Queiroz Galvao Oil & Gas expected to secure contracts — two for deep water and one for 600 metres — for east coast KG-DWN-98/2 development
Nishant Ugal New Delhi
3 Mar 2017 00:00 GMT

Three leading international drilling contractors are poised to win three-year, deep-water rig contracts from India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for its flagship Block KG-DWN-98/2 development off the country’s east coast.

ONGC requires two 1500-metre, dynamically positioned drillships or semi-submersibles in one category and a single anchor-moored rig capable of drilling in 600 metres of water in the second.

London-headquartered giant Seadrill and Singapore’s Vantage Drilling are expected to win three-year rig charter contracts in the 1500-metre category, while Brazil’s Queiroz Galvao Oil & Gas (QGOG) is likely to win a three-year rig contract in the 600-metre category, sources said.

Seadrill was said to have emerged as the lowest bidder in the 1500-metre category when commercial bids were opened by ONGC on 27 February.

“Seadrill offered the lowest operating dayrate of $124,889 (service tax inclusive) for its drillship Sevan Driller,” a source said.

Vantage Drilling was placed a close second, offering an operating dayrate of $129,582 for drillship Platinum Explorer, which also includes the service tax component.

Another source said that both Seadrill and Vantage are expected to win rig contracts, as ONGC requires two drilling units in the 1500-metre category.

However, it is thought that ONGC will ask Vantage to match the dayrate offered by Seadrill.

More than a dozen offshore rigs were offered by nine contractors in the 1500-metre category last year. Other bidders in the same category included Transocean, Universal Energy Resources, two players offering Ensco rigs, and India’s Dynamic Drilling on behalf of US-based Noble Drilling and Ocean Rig.

Transocean offered three drillships in the 1500-metre category — Discoverer India, Deepwater Millennium and Discoverer Luanda.

However, Transocean is believed to have offered the highest dayrate in the same category, offering a service tax inclusive operating rate of $166,750 for three of its rigs.

In the second category, QGOG emerged as the lowest bidder with a service tax inclusive operating dayrate of $138,000 for its semisub Olinda Star.

Transocean was second in line, offering an operating day-rate of $146,050 for semisub Marianas.

Only three rig contractors submitted offers in the second category last year.

Japan Drilling had also offered its semisub Hakuryu-5 to ONGC in the 600-metre category, but it could not be confirmed whether the state-owned giant opened its price bid.

A huge fleet of more than 30 deep-water drillships and semisubs was originally offered to ONGC in a tender floated in 2015 seeking up to five deep-water units that included the KG-DWN-98/2 requirement.

However, ONGC halted that process last year due to uncertainty at the time about the pace of progress of the KG-DWN-98/2 development and when drilling units would need to be mobilised.

ONGC’s board later approved a $5 billion development plan of the Cluster 2 fields in KG-DWN-98/2, paving the way for the tender to be freshly issued in September last year. ONGC plans to drill 35 development wells at the deep-water block in a major drilling programme over the next two to three years with the help of the three drilling units that is on the cusp of chartering.

First gas from the Cluster 2 fields development is targeted by the Indian operator for June 2019, with first oil starting to flow in March 2020.

...more revenues coming on line...another catalyst...