Samsung Heavy gets drillship order

Samsung Heavy Industries has won an order to build an ultra-deepwater drillship for London-based Ensco, with an option for two additional units, Seatrade Asia online reports. The drillship Ensco DS-8 will be the sixth Samsung DP3 drillship in Ensco's fleet. The new vessel is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2014. Including commissioning, systems integration testing, project management and spares, the construction cost is expected to be approximately $645m. “An ongoing trend of new deepwater oil and gas discoveries around the globe is creating a high demand for equipment capable of tapping those resources,” said Dan Rabun, ceo and president at Ensco. The drillship will be able to drill in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and a total vertical drilling depth of 40,000 feet.