Ensco has added another newbuild drillship to its queue of ultra-deepwater units on order from Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in South Korea, at a cost of US $625 million.

The driller ordered the additional advanced-capability DP3 drillship based on the Samsung GF12000 hull design. The vessel, Ensco DS-10, will be the eighth Samsung DP3 drillship in the fleet. It will be built at SHI, with delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2015.

The agreement also includes an option for an additional drillship of the same design.

Ensco DS-8 and Ensco DS-9, also based on the GF12000 hull design, are scheduled for delivery in 2014. Ensco says it is currently the only drilling contractor offering the advanced features of the GF12000 hull design.

The construction cost includes commissioning, systems integration testing, project management and tubulars.

Measuring 230 m (755 ft) in length and 38 m (125 ft) in width, Ensco DS-10 will offer a 1,250-ton hoisting system with enhanced offline capability. Like the Ensco DS-8 and Ensco DS-9, the new unit will have advanced capabilities to meet the demands of ultra- deepwater drilling in water depths of up to 3,658 m (12,000 ft) and a total vertical drilling depth of 12,192 m (40,000 ft). It will be initially outfitted to work in water depths of up to 3,048 m (10,000 ft).

A 165-ton active heave compensating construction crane allows for deployment of sub- sea production equipment without interference with ongoing drilling operations. The Ensco DS-10 will also include a 15,000-psi subsea well control system with seven rams, and can accommodate a second BOP stack.

Ensco’s four active DP3 drillships are currently working in the US Gulf, Brazil and West Africa. Three are contracted into 2016 and the fourth is contracted into 2018.