Diamond Offshore Drilling (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
October 19
Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO : NYSE : US$71.41), Net Change: 1.64, % Change: 2.35%, Volume: 4,044,377
Just DO it.
Shares of deepwater driller Diamond Offshore were higher as recent deals in the sector are painting a picture of a market in which deepwater oil rigs will be in high demand for years. Competitor Noble (NE) commented that it expects ultradeepwater rates to keep heading higher, even after a strong rise so far this year, while Diamond commented that they saw the same market momentum driven by demand off Australia, both coasts of Africa, as well as closer to home. “
In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, we have seen resurgence in activity in the deepwater and ultra-deepwater arenas over the past year,” said Michael Acuff, Diamond’s senior vice president of marketing, predicting as many as 40 deepwater rigs could be working there next year, up from 31 now. As for elsewhere, Diamond highlighted the signing of its Ocean Endeavor rig, which had been making $285,000 per day in Egypt, to an 18-month contract starting in December 2013 at $521,665 per day, including half the potential bonus.
The company would only say it will be located outside of the Mediterranean Sea. Also, its Ocean America rig has been signed up by Chevron (CVX) for 18 months off Australia at a rate of $475,000 per day starting in mid-2013, versus the current dayrate of $405,000.
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