Offshore driller Transocean has entered into agreements with a third party to sell two of its rigs for a total of $342m.
The two rigs in question are the Development Driller III and the Discoverer Inspiration. The former and its associated assets will be sold for $195m while the latter will be sold for $147 million.
The company expects the sale of these two rigs worth $342m will result in an estimated non-cash charge for the third quarter of 2024 ranging between $630m and $645m associated with the impairment of such assets. The sale is linked to Transocean’s ongoing efforts to dispose of non-strategic assets.
The two rigs have been on the chopping block for a while since the 6th-generation semisub Development Driller III has been idle in Aruba since August 2023 while the Discoverer Inspiration last worked for Hess in 2023 and has been in the Canary Islands since the first quarter of 2024.
Transocean described the rig status as “warmish” in its last quarterly conference call, meaning that the rigs are kept marketable but that the costs are kept as low as possible. During the call, the company stated that there was no expectation for the rigs to work in 2024.
The two transactions for the sale of the rigs are subject to customary closing conditions and are expected to close in the third quarter of 2024. Transocean intends to use substantially all of the proceeds to repay existing indebtedness.
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