Clough Ltd., Perth, (Australia: CLO) has signed a $38-million contract to charter the new-build diving-support and subsea-construction ship Rem Clough with Wild Well Control Inc., a subsidiary of Superior Energy Services Inc., Harvey, La. (NYSE: SPN)


“Superior Energy has taken a significant step toward its strategy of expanding further into subsea construction and deepwater well-intervention services, which we believe are good fits with its engineering and project-management strengths,” says Pritchard Capital Partners LLC senior analyst Mark Brown.


The charter is for one year with two, six-month options and is scheduled. Clough will take delivery of the vessel from the Norwegian shipyard where it was built and immediately move it to the Gulf of Mexico where it will begin work by early next year. Capable of working in water up to 8,202 feet deep, the ship will be equipped with two remotely operated vehicles and a saturation dive-support system.


Superior Energy has posted a third-quarter net income of $99.9 million, $1.22 per share, up 33% from the $75.1 million, 91 cents per share, last year.

“We are forecasting flat revenues for well servicing, and for rental tools, we are assuming 2% sequential revenue growth in part to recapture lost hurricane revenues,” Brown says. “We are forecasting a 12% sequential marine revenue growth to reflect higher lift-boat utilization and dayrates from hurricane-related repair and salvage work. The company is in the process of implementing a 7% to 10% price increase across its lift-boat fleet.”


Brown is raising his fourth-quarter earnings-per-share forecast for Superior Energy from $1.06 to $1.14.—JAS