Transocean (NYSE:RIG) shares rose Wednesday after Citi upgraded them to buy from neutral. “We think Transocean is favorably positioned among offshore drilling peers given its sizable available fleet of idle rigs returning to work in the coming years,” Citi said.
What’s more, Transocean today announced that six one-well options have been exercised for the Transocean Encourage in Norway. The estimated 370 days of work will contribute approximately $172 million in backlog.
The work is expected to commence in direct continuation of the current firm term and now extends through February 2026.
Transocean is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. Transocean specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services and operates the highest specification floating offshore drilling fleet in the world.
Transocean owns or has partial ownership interests in and operates a fleet of 36 mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of 28 ultra-deepwater floaters and eight harsh environment floaters. In addition, Transocean holds a noncontrolling ownership interest in a company that is constructing one ultra-deepwater drillship.
RIG shares chugged higher 38 cents, or 5.4%, to $7.35.
