Vantage Drilling Partners with Eldorado Drilling to Market Seventh-Generation Drillship

Offshore drilling contractor Vantage Drilling has recently announced a partnership with Norwegian rig owner Eldorado Drilling to market its state-of-the-art seventh-generation drillship, Dorado. This collaboration aims to expand the rig’s reach in key regions such as Africa, the Mediterranean, Asia, and Australasia.

CEO of Vantage Drilling, Ihab Toma, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, “We look forward to successfully placing the rig in operation and meeting the demands of the market.”

Vantage Drilling has a proven track record of managing multiple rigs for various owners, including industry giants like Seadrill and Aquadrill. Currently, the company boasts a fleet that includes two drillships, namely the Platinum Explorer and the Tungsten Explorer, with the latter being majority-owned by TotalEnergies.

The Dorado drillship is part of a trio of ultra-deepwater drillships acquired by Eldorado Drilling from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. The other two rigs, Zonda and Draco, are also part of Eldorado’s fleet, with the Zonda currently under management by Ventura Offshore and engaged in a contract with Petrobras in Brazil.

In a strategic move last May, Diamond Offshore, now a subsidiary of Noble Corporation, secured the rights to market both the Draco and Dorado drillships in key regions such as Brazil, Latin America, West Africa, Malaysia, and Indonesia, further solidifying their presence in the offshore drilling market.