A subsidiary of Buccaneer Energy Ltd. has signed an agreement to buy a jack-up rig from Transocean Offshore Resources Ltd., the Australian independent announced today.
Kenai Offshore Ventures LLC will buy the GSF Adriatic XI rig for $68.5 million.
The sale is expected to close between Sept. 30 and Oct. 25.
The rig has been cold stacked in Malaysia since 2009, Buccaneer said. Once the deal is finalized, Buccaneer said the rig would be moved to an Asian-based shipyard to undergo modifications to winterize the rig for use in the sub-Arctic conditions of Cook Inlet.
The entire effort to buy, modify and mobilize the jack-up rig, known as Project Endeavor, is expected to cost $86.5 million, according to Buccaneer. The company said that the budgets for the mobilization and modification activities are still being finalized.
The funding for the $86.5 million project will come from three sources, Buccaneer said.
Kenai Offshore Ventures, a 50-50 joint venture between Buccaneer and the Singapore-based marine company Ezion Holdings Ltd. will contribute $6.85 million. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority will add between $24 million and $30 million through an agreement negotiated earlier this year between the public corporation of the State of Alaska and the joint venture. The remaining $50 million to $56 million will come from a loan issued by an as-yet-unnamed Asian-based bank.
Buccaneer said that the loan documentation is “in the process of being finalized.”
See full story in Sept. 4 issue, available online to subscribers at 11 a.m., Friday, Sept. 2, at www.PetroleumNews.com
