(WO) — Transocean has secured roughly $1 billion in new offshore drilling work, pushed by deepwater contract extensions in Brazil and a brand new harsh-environment rig award in Norway.
The corporate added the backlog via a mixture of new awards and extensions overlaying three rigs, reinforcing demand throughout each ultra-deepwater and harsh-environment markets.
In Norway, the Transocean Barents semisubmersible was awarded a 1,095-day contract with Vår Energi, with work anticipated to start in mid-2027. The contract is projected to contribute about $490 million in backlog and contains choices that might prolong operations into 2034.
In Brazil, Petrobras prolonged contracts for 2 ultra-deepwater drillships. The Deepwater Orion acquired a three-year extension via March 2030, including roughly $420 million in backlog. The Deepwater Aquila secured a one-year extension via June 2028, contributing about $160 million.
The awards spotlight continued power in Brazil’s deepwater market, the place long-term developments are sustaining excessive utilization for contemporary drillships.
Individually, Transocean mentioned it has retired $358 million in senior secured notes due 2028, utilizing money readily available and funds from a debt service reserve account. The transfer is anticipated to scale back curiosity expense by about $39 million over the remaining lifetime of the notes.
The corporate mentioned it expects to retire a complete of roughly $750 million in debt throughout 2026, as a part of its broader effort to scale back leverage and enhance its stability sheet.
