Switzerland-based offshore drilling contractor Transocean has won a multimillion-dollar assignment for one of its ultra-deepwater drillships in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Transocean’s Deepwater Asgard drillship has been hired on a five-well contract in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea with an undisclosed operator. The estimated 390-day campaign is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 and contribute approximately $158 million in backlog.
This excludes additional services and compensation for mobilization and demobilization. With a capacity to accommodate 200 people and a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 feet, the 2014-built Deepwater Asgard ultra-deepwater dual-activity DSME 12000 drillship can undertake activities in water depths of up to 12,000 feet.
Thanks to recently announced fixtures for the Transocean Barents rig in Norway, and the Deepwater Orion , Deepwater Aquila , and Deepwater Corcovado drillships in Brazil, the rig owner’s total backlog additions have hit approximately $1.6 billion since the beginning of April 2026.