BP Awards Global Santa Fe 3-year Contract for Gulf of Mexico

Published Dec 21, 2003 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

Worldwide oil and gas drilling contractor GlobalSantaFe Corporation (NYSE: GSF) announced that BP has awarded a three year contract for its Gulf of Mexico Atlantis project to GlobalSantaFe's newbuild semi-submersible rig, Development Driller II.

The estimated 20 well project has a total contract value of approximately $200 million and is expected to commence on July 1, 2005.

"We appreciate the confidence that BP has shown in our company, and we are eager to take on the performance challenges of the Atlantis project," said GlobalSantaFe President and Chief Executive Officer, Jon Marshall.

The Development Driller II is a semi-submersible unit designed to be the optimal tool for development and subsea projects. The rig has 18,000 square feet of useable deck space and more than 7,000 tons of variable deck load, and is equipped with unique station keeping abilities, consisting of a stand alone, dynamic positioning system, in addition to a self-contained eight point mooring system.

This development unit has multiple activity features, which enable simultaneous operations on the drill floor, in the moon pool, and on the main deck, and which are designed to deliver the performance efficiencies required in the challenging deepwater arena.