Transocean (RIG) Acquires Stake in Ultra-Deepwater Drillship

Transocean Ltd. RIG recently declared that one of its subsidiaries, along with Perestroika A.S. and funds managed by Lime Rock Management L.P., formed a joint venture named Liquila Ventures Ltd.

The joint venture has agreed to purchase the ultra-deepwater newbuild drillship — formerly known as West Aquila — Hull 3623 from the South Korean shipbuilding firm Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. The consideration for the transaction is approximately $200 million.

Hull 3623 is a high-specification, 1400 short-ton hook load ultra-deepwater drillship. This seventh-generation dual-activity drillship will have an outsized space and high-load capacities, along with being dual-stack ready.

The Vernier, Switzerland-based American offshore driller made a $15-million noncontrolling investment in the joint venture. Moreover, it has the exclusive right to market and manage the operations of the rig, which is anticipated to be delivered in the third quarter of 2023.

Transocean is the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor and a leading provider of drilling management services. It provides rigs on a contractual basis to explore and develop oil and gas. Transocean offers offshore drilling rigs, equipment, services and manpower (with an emphasis on ultra-deepwater and harsh environment drilling services) to exploration and production companies worldwide.

Transocean currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the energy space that warrant a look include Exxon Mobil XOM, Phillips 66 PSX and Valero VLO, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Exxon Mobil’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $13.92 per share, indicating an increase of about 158.7% from the year-ago earnings of $5.38.

The consensus estimate for XOM’s 2022 earnings has been revised upward by about 9.6% over the past 60 days from $12.70 per share to $13.92 per share.

Estimates for Phillips’ 2022 earnings stand at $21 per share, up about 268.4% from the year-ago earnings of $5.70.

PSX beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, the average being around 28%.

Valero beat estimates for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, the average being around 25.1%.

The consensus mark for VLO’s 2022 earnings stands at $28.66 per share, which implies an increase of about 919.9% from the year-ago earnings of $2.81.

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