TheNasdaq-listed offshore contractor says the $112m letter of intent from an oilmajor is tied to the Eirik Raude(built 2002) and involves a one-well programme offshore Ireland.
Drillingis scheduled to commence in the in the first quarter next year when the floater wraps upa project in West Africa, the DryShips offshoot told investors Tuesday.
Accordingto Michael Webber of Wells Fargo Securities the price tag implies a gross dailyrate of $622,000 or $567,000 assuming mobilisation costs of around $10m.
Withthree outstanding letters of intent with a collective value of $1.6bn, theanalyst believes today’s development is particularly good news for shareholders of DryShips, which controlsa 65% in the spin-off.
“We note that Ocean Rig alsocontinues to work toward the syndication of its $1.35bn credit facility, whichwe believe could open the door to incremental fleet growth, likely through itsexisting options, which expire in March 2013 but could likely be extended ifnecessary,” he added in a client alert.
Nasdaq-listed shares of DryShips soared6.48% to $2.51 in hours following the offshore update while Ocean Rigwatched its Times Square-quoted stock jump 0.51% before topping out at $17.82 inmidday trading.
