Brazilian drilling contractor Constellation Oil Services has won new contracts with compatriot oil major Petrobras for three of its rigs.

Constellation said in a recent statement that the contracts were awarded to the Amaralina Star, Gold Star, and Lone Star rigs.

The contracts for the Gold Star and Lone Star semi-submersibles have a duration of three years. The Amaralina Star is an ultra-deepwater DP drillship that began operations in September 2012. It is designed to drill in water depths of up to 10,000 feet and has a drilling capacity of up to 40,000 feet.

Both Gold Star and Lone Star are ultra-deepwater DP semi-submersible drilling rigs. Gold Star began operations in February 2010. The rig is capable of drilling in water depths of up to 9,000 feet and has a drilling capacity of up to 30,000 feet.

Lone Star began operations in April 2011 and is capable of drilling in water depths of up to 7,900 feet and has a drilling capacity of up to 30,000 feet. All three rigs are also equipped to operate in Brazil's pre-salt layer.

Previous contracts for the two semi-subs were awarded to Constellation in July 2019. The contracts, for two years each, were due to start in January 2020. Petrobras contracted its three ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rigs Alpha Star, Gold Star, and Lone Star. The contracts are for two years each. All three rigs entered service in the 2010-2011 period.

While Constellation did not provide the financial details of the contracts, Norwegian rig broker Bassoe Offshore estimated the daily rate to be around $155,000 for each Petrobras contract.

News of the contracts for the trio of rigs came two weeks after Petrobras contracted Constellation's Laguna Star rig on a two-year contract.

“Securing these three contracts, along with the recently announced contract for Laguna Star, is a remarkable achievement for the company. Petrobras is an important player in the Brazilian market, and this reinforces the long-standing partnership that our companies have built over the years,” Guilherme Lima, CEO of Constellation, said.

He added that Constellation's Brava Star and Olinda Star platforms were also under contract and that a substantial majority of the company’s fleet was currently under contract.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com

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