Offshore drilling contractor Seadrill has announced a new contract has been secured by Sonadrill, Seadrill’s 50:50 joint venture with an affiliate of Angola’s Sonangol.

Sonadrill has secured a ten-well contract with options for up to 8 additional wells in Angola for the West Gemini drillship, Seadrill revealed on Monday.

The rig owner also said that the total contract value for the firm portion of the contract is expected to be approximately $161 million (inclusive of mobilization revenue and additional services), with further meaningful revenue potential from a performance bonus. The contract is expected to start in 4Q 2022 with a firm term of approximately 18 months, in direct continuation of West Gemini’s existing contract.

According to Seadrill’s latest fleet status report, the drillship’s current firm contract with an undisclosed operator in Angola is expected to end in May with options until November 2022.

The West Gemini is the third drillship to be bareboat chartered into Sonadrill, along with two Sonangol-owned units, the Sonangol Quenguela and Sonangol Libongos. Seadrill will manage and operate the units on behalf of Sonadrill.

The West Gemini is a 6th generation ultra-deepwater drillship built in 2010 with an operational history offshore Africa.

Seadrill believes that, together, the three units position the joint venture as the premier rig operator in Angola, furthering the goal of building an ultra-deepwater franchise in the Golden Triangle and driving efficiencies from rig clustering in the region.

Seadrill’s Chief Executive Officer, Simon Johnson, commented: “Our strategic partnership with Sonadrill is critical to the development of the Angolan oil and gas sector and to Seadrill’s position as the number one rig operator in Angola. We’re grateful for the Seadrill crew aboard the West Gemini who deserves the lion’s share of the credit for this contract.”

Johnson has recently taken over as Seadrill’s President and CEO following the company’s exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.