US offshore drilling company Transocean has signed a year contract extension for the Deepwater Asgard drillship extension with an independent operator in the US Gulf of Mexico.

The fleet program is expected to commence in direct continuation of the rig’s current program and is estimated to contribute approximately $188 million in backlog, including additional services, said Transocean.

According to Transocean’s latest fleet status report, published in April, Deepwater Asgard is currently contracted to Hess at a day rate of $505,000 through June 2025.

Deepwater Asgard, built in 2014, is an ultra-deepwater drillship of DSME 12000 design. With a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 ft, the rig can operate in water depths of up to 12,000 ft and can accommodate 200 people.

Notably, Transocean owns or has partial ownership interests in and operates a fleet of 35 mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of 27 ultra-deepwater floaters and eight harsh environment floaters. Moreover, Transocean is constructing one ultra-deepwater drillship.