Reactivated drillship to work for Petrobras off Brazil under $500m contract

Hanwha Drilling, a subsidiary of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, recently held a naming ceremony for the drillship Tidal Action.

The drillship was originally built in 2018 by Hanwha Ocean (then known as Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering) and was previously named West Libra. It will be operated by Hanwha Drilling in partnership with Brazil's Constellation Oil Services on behalf of state-owned oil company Petrobras.

The reactivated vessel and can drill up to 12,000 metres at a maximum water depth of 3,600 metres. A dynamic positioning system will ensure stable hull fixation and an explosion protection safety device will guarantee safe drilling operations.

TIdal Action will commence operations offshore Brazil in the second half of this year in fulfilment of a US$500 million long-term time charter agreement with Petrobras. The drillship will be deployed at the Roncador field in the Campos Basin northeast of Rio de Janeiro for a firm period of 30 months.

The contract with Petrobras also includes options.