Ensign Energy Services Inc. has been recently awarded drilling rig contracts and the integration of Trinidad Drilling Ltd., the company said on March 29.
Ensign has been awarded significant new drilling contracts in the U.S., Canada and the Middle East. The cost to prepare and mobilize the rigs required to fulfill these new contractual obligations will not require any increase to the company’s previously announced CAD $102 million (US$76 million) net capex budget for 2019.
In the Permian Basin, Ensign has been successful in contracting, with a major customer, an additional three ADR-1500 Super-Spec type rigs, each on one-year term contracts. All three of these drilling rigs, plus the existing six rigs currently contracted to this major customer, will receive newly installed Ensign Edge wellsite technology controls systems. The Ensign Edge technology platform continues to be employed on an increasing number of Ensign drilling rigs (including those acquired from Trinidad) in response to customer demands.
In Canada, the demand for deeper capacity rigs and the tightened supply in this rig category has positively changed the outlook moving forward. Ensign has been awarded new two-year contracts for three of its ADR-1500 HP Super-Spec drilling rigs. These contracts are at rates reflective of a tightening market.
Internationally, Ensign has been awarded, in Bahrain, two three-year initial term contracts, each with two one-year extensions beyond the initial three-year term. These contracts are for our ADR-2000 HP Super-Spec rigs, one of which is owned 100% by Ensign, and one of which is owned 60% by Ensign through a joint venture (JV), Trinidad Drilling International Luxembourg S.a.r.l. The drilling rig owned through the TDI JV is presently situated in Bahrain and the other drilling rig will be mobilized into Bahrain from its present location in the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally, Ensign confirms that it has completed the mobilization into Kuwait of two ADR-3400 HP Super-Spec drilling rigs, which are currently rigging up to commence performance of their five-year contracts. Both of these drilling rigs are owned through the TDI JV. These drilling rigs are among the largest and most technologically advanced land drilling rigs in the world.
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