RIGAMAROLE FALL 2014 ISSUE NO. 33 RIGAMAROLE FALL 2014 ISSUE NO. 33 A LETTER FROM MARC EDWARDS, TURNS TEN PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RIGAMAROLE 02 AN EXTRAORDINARY ENDEAVOR 42 BARGES TO BEHEMOTHS Early in 2014 the Ocean Endeavor was scheduled Diamond Offshore traces the Company’s begin- With this issue, Diamond Offshore commemorates ten years of publishing to move to Romanian waters, in anticipation of nings to the earliest days of the offshore drilling Rigamarole in its current format. This anniversary provides an apt planned ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom exploration industry. Today, after decades of innovation and occasion to reflect upon what has happened in our industry during the wells in the area. But before any drill bit could bite opportunistic multiple-company and rig acquisi- into the silty sea bottom, the rig had to go through tions, Diamond Offshore provides contract drilling past ten years, and more importantly, what might lie ahead. a series of carefully planned, perfectly executed services to the energy industry around the globe steps to get there. and is a leader in deepwater drilling. From a personal perspective, this edition is of particular Diamond’s talented employees’ contribution is so relevance as it’s my first since joining Diamond Offshore important. This is what contributes to the Diamond as President and CEO in March of this year. I have Difference and will get us across the line first. We will communicated my thoughts regularly with the Diamond emerge from this cycle with an even brighter shine. 24 A FLEET TO MATCH THE MARKETS 48 ENDEAVOR(ING) TO SUCCEED Ten years ago, Diamond Offshore’s approach to The shipyard phase of the Ocean Endeavor organization since I came on board, but I’ll take the As we look to the future, it is also important that fleet building was much as it is today. The com- conversion from mid-water semi to ultra-deep- opportunity once again to share what I have seen in my we don’t forget the past and the efforts that many pany looks for the best opportunities to upgrade water super-rig has been completed on time and first few months. Let me start with the people I have have undertaken to get us into the position of relative and renew its inventory. under budget. met, both on the rigs and in our offices around the world. corporate strength. In this anniversary edition of We have a passionate workforce that takes pride in Rigamarole, we feature some past stories from over what we do; we have people who come to work to make the years that are still relevant today. Our lead article a difference; and we have employees who care about discusses the Ocean Endeavor’s long journey to 30 ULTRA-DEEP ENDEAVOR 52 THE OCEAN MONARCH Arrival of the Ocean Endeavor at Keppel Fels After a two and a half year massing of power their colleagues, their customers and the environment reach the Black Sea where it is currently working for shipyard in Singapore in May 2006 marked the and might, a newly upgraded Victory Class semi, in which we work. They care about building on the ExxonMobil. In addition to telling the tale of how the rig beginning of a major two-year upgrade that will the Ocean Monarch, joins the Diamond Offshore “Diamond Difference.” was squeezed through the Bosphorus Straight, we revisit prepare the semisubmersible for service in the ultra-deepwater fleet. Everyone is aware of how difficult the offshore its delivery from our rig upgrading program, along with world’s growing ultra-deepwater drilling markets. drilling market has become. We are facing an its sister rig, the Ocean Monarch. We take a look at our unprecedented wave of newbuild drillships coming acquisition of the Ocean Courage and then conclude with to market, the majority of which are uncontracted. a current summary of our newbuild program. 58 GAINING COURAGE Our clients are significantly cutting back on offshore This issue also represents the final publication of 36 TAMING THE LOOP Diamond Offshore wins a bid for a 10,000- ft., new- The Gulf of Mexico’s infamous Loop Current has build DP semisubmersible fresh out of the shipyard. spending as their shareholders demand better returns. Rigamarole as a traditional printed magazine. In its earned some nefarious nicknames. But signifi- The rig is expected to begin work in the GOM in But we know our business is cyclical, and we have place will be similar content, but it will be designed cant oil and gas reserves lie beneath it. Favorable early 2010. successfully weathered storms before. This is where to live online: a format that is compatible with how commodity prices and escalating world demand the Diamond Difference is so important. We have the most of us enjoy our reading these days—on a tablet, for hydrocarbons are nudging operators into this best maintained assets and the best trained people. smartphone, or internet browser. This will allow us to Proof positive of this is that in Q2 of this year we only had update content on a more frequent basis, much like a powerful force of nature with which the industry 64 SETTING SAIL must reckon. Over the next year, Diamond Offshore will launch 52 days of unplanned downtime across a fleet of newspaper website. Your comments and feedback are three ultra-deepwater drillships and two deepwa- 41 active assets. We collectively strive for a workplace certainly of interest to us, so the online version will ter semisubmersible rigs. where no one gets hurt and uptime is best in class. allow you to submit feedback on specific articles. We want to provide a superior level of customer service We hope you enjoy this issue and future editions of that makes Diamond the preferred vendor of choice. Rigamarole and that they will inspire your continued So quite a tall ask then? Not really when we are interest in Diamond Offshore. I am also looking forward already close. Which is why each and every one of to what the next ten years bring to our great company. RIGAMAROLE is published for and about the Managing Editor Darren Daugherty Contact Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. people and customers of Diamond Offshore. Design & Production Rigsby Hull PO Box 4558, Houston, Texas 77210 USA For more info, write us, call or visit Printing Cereus Graphics P : 281 492 5300 www.diamondoffshore.com. E : corporatecomms @ dodi.com RIGAMAROLE No . 33 3 In 2012, beneath the deep waters of the Black Sea, HOW ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom DO YOU made a gas discovery off the coast of Romania. CHOP The Ocean Endeavor— outfitted with the latest A 376 drilling technologies and FOOT- equipment—had to be brought to the area in order TALL to confirm the find’s RIG IN potential. But before any drill bit could bite into the HALF silty sea bottom, an ? unfathomable question had to be answered. 4 DIAMOND OFFSHORE RIGAMAROLE No . 33 5 RIGAMAROLE TURNS TEN WRITTEN BY SCOTT REDEPENNING PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS SHINN and RICH CROWDER AN EXTRA ORDINARY ENDEAVOR 6 DIAMOND OFFSHORE RIGAMAROLE No . 33 7 In January 2014, Diamond Offshore’s Strait, which cuts through the project nearing the finish line, a Ocean Endeavor completed a drilling heart of Istanbul, connecting few gray hairs have crept into his contract in Egypt. ExxonMobil, the Black Sea to the Aegean and otherwise youthful countenance, working with Romania’s OMV Petrom, ultimately the Mediterranean. hinting at the challenges he and then secured the ultra deepwater rig Two sleek bridges soar 64 meters his team have faced for the last to work a newly expanded drilling (210 feet) high over the Bosphorus, several months. program in the Black Sea. more than enough clearance for the Typically when a contract ends, world’s largest ships to pass safely “This is the first time Diamond Diamond Offshore will relocate a rig below. But the bridge designers didn’t Offshore has done anything like anywhere in the world where count on a seagoing vessel with an this on a rig this big. This is a very it is needed next. In fact, contracts enormous pointed tip towering unusual project,” he says. in recent years had seen the massive 115 meters (376 feet) skyward. To get “The mobilization is taking roughly Endeavor towed from Singapore to the Endeavor underneath, the derrick half a year before any drilling the Gulf of Mexico to Egypt. would have to be taken off, laid down can be done at a significant cost In relative terms, this latest trip for the passage and put back up on to our client. I think that shows from Egypt to nearby Romania the other side—in effect the most the potential ExxonMobil sees in looked to be a quick and easy jaunt. challenging limbo contest Diamond the Black Sea. We will be drilling But there were two very thin, yet Offshore has ever attempted. several wells in Romanian and very formidable obstacles standing Russian waters, and ExxonMobil in the way. holds options to extend the contract HAVE RIG, beyond that. I think the rig could be The Black Sea is a 270,400-square- WILL TRAVEL here for a good long while.” kilometer water mass that is Kyle Bardsley is the Project Engineer virtually landlocked by Romania, in charge of mobilizing the Endeavor The mobilization phase of the Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey into the Black Sea. He came to the project started on January 18th, and and Bulgaria. The only waterway project at its earliest planning stages some 174 days, 2,583 nautical miles in and out is the narrow Bosphorus in mid 2012.