Fossil Energy – Management
Following its acquisition of Aquadrill, Seadrill President and CEO Simon Johnson said that Seadrill intends to take control of the former Aquadrill rigs at an appropriate time based on discussions with existing managers and the customers currently using these rigs.
Currently, drillships West Auriga and West Vela are managed and operated on behalf of Seadrill by Diamond Offshore Drilling while drillships West Capella and West Polaris and semisub West Aquarius are managed and operated by Vantage Drilling.
The semisub West Aquarius is currently warm stacked in the Canary Islands. Seadrill said that any potential reactivation would need to be funded by the client and would be observing financial prudence in regards to opportunities for the rig.
West Capella is preparing to begin a one-well contract in East Africa this month, understood to be with Eni offshore Mozambique. West Polaris is under contract to ONGC offshore India until September 2023. West Auriga and West Vela are both under contract in the US GOM until February 2024 at this time; West Auriga with BP and West Vela with BP followed by Beacon Offshore.
Tender-assist rigs T-15, T-16 and West Vencedor are managed and operated by Energy Drilling Management. Johnson noted during Seadrill’s Q4 2022 results presentation that the tender-assist rigs are not core units and that fleet composition is an active discussion for Seadrill.
