Maersk Drilling’s first ultra deepwater drillship
named Maersk Viking

10/10/2013

Images by Maersk Drilling

Maersk Drilling’s first ultra deepwater drillship was named Thursday morning in a ceremony held at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje-Si, South Korea. Mrs. Nathalie Newman, wife of Mr. Harry E. Newman Jr., ExxonMobil Global Drilling Manager, had the honour of naming the drillship, Maersk Viking.

Maersk Viking is the first in a series of four ultra deepwater drillships to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet. The four drillships represent a total investment of USD 2.6bn and will be delivered from the SHI shipyard in late 2013 and 2014. After delivery from the yard and mobilisation to the US Gulf of Mexico, Maersk Viking will commence a three year contract with ExxonMobil. The estimated contract value is USD 610m including mobilisation, but excluding cost escalation and performance bonus.

“The naming of Maersk Viking is an important milestone in our further expansion in the ultra deepwater market. With the contract for Maersk Viking we look forward to continuing our relationship with ExxonMobil, and establishing ourselves as a significant drilling contractor in the US Gulf of Mexico,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group.

Maersk Drilling has been active in the US Gulf of Mexico since 2009 with the ultra deepwater semi-submersible Maersk Developer. With Maersk Viking and the second newbuild drillship, Deepwater Advanced 2, to enter the US GoM, Maersk Drilling is becoming a significant drilling contractor in the US Gulf of Mexico, which together with West Africa, are the target regions for Maersk Drilling’s deepwater activities. Growing the business activities in the ultra deepwater market is part of Maersk Drilling’s strategy to deliver on the financial ambition of a profit (NOPAT) of USD 1bn in 2018.

Facts about the new drillships from Maersk Drilling
The design and capacities of the new drillships include features for high efficiency operations. Featuring dual derrick and large subsea work and storage areas, the design allows for efficient well construction and field development activities through offline activities. With their advanced positioning control system, the ships automatically maintain a fixed position in severe weather conditions with waves of up to 11 metres and wind speeds of up to 26 metres per second. Special attention has been given to safety onboard the drillships. Equipped with Multi Machine Control on the drill floor, the high degree of automation ensures safe operation and consistent performance. Higher transit speeds and increased capacity will reduce the overall logistics costs for oil companies.



Facts about Maersk Drilling
Maersk Drilling has an ambition of becoming a significant and stable contributor to the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group with a profit (NOPAT) of USD 1bn by 2018, while conducting incident free operations. Maersk Drilling provides high-efficiency drilling services to oil companies around the world. In addition to the four drillships and four jack-up rigs in order, the modern fleet counts 16 drilling rigs including deepwater semi-submersibles and high-end jack-up rigs. Maersk Drilling was established in 1972 and employs an international staff of 3,600 people. To see more movie clips and pictures and read more about Maersk Drilling visit www.maerskdrilling.com and www.facebook.com/maerskdrilling

Maersk Drilling, press release