Helmerich Payne
Assembly Line
What's it like on a geothermal drilling rig?
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. Announces Finalization of Contractual Terms with Saudi Aramco for Recent 7-rig Unconventional Gas Award
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. announced that the Company and Saudi Aramco have finalized the contractual terms related to a recent 7-rig tender award.
The seven super-spec rigs were awarded 5-year contracts, with 1-year options, and are expected to commence operations shortly after delivery, which for a majority of these rigs is scheduled during the fourth calendar quarter of 2024. Similar to the one-rig award with Saudi Aramco in August 2023, these rigs will be sourced from H&P’s idle super-spec FlexRigs® in the U.S. and, during fiscal 2024, the Company plans to convert the rigs to walking configurations and further equip them to suit Saudi Aramco’s unconventional gas drilling rig specifications. The bulk of capex required to prepare these rigs for this award was included as part of the Company’s fiscal 2024 capex budget with the remainder to be spent early in fiscal 2025. In total, expectations are for capital expenditures related to these rigs to be approximately $175 to $196 million, of which $30 to $35 million is expected to be spent in fiscal 2025. Additionally, the Company expects this contract award to contribute more than $25 million to its International Solutions segment direct margin(1) on an annualized basis.
Achieving the Next Level with New Industry Standard Drilling Rig
Unlike most conventional rigs, this Flex3 walking rig is a side saddle configuration to reduce flat time during common rig activities such as drilling, pad to pad rig moves and well to well rig walks. It was thoughtfully designed with environmental stewardship and safety in mind.
A hookload of 1,000,000 pounds, a 720,000-pound setback capacity, and the capacity to set almost 24,000ft of 5 ½-inch drillpipe in the racking board, equips the rig for highly complex lateral wells. Its walking capability offers the flexibility of 500ft in a straight line, or multiple rows within a 200 x 50 ft box. A patented H&P BoomBox removes the need to break electrical connections during walks, allowing the rig to stay energized continuously. Complex connections are reduced and rig-up time is minimized through the substructure-mounted choke manifold, mud gas separator, trip tanks and pump back tank.
The condensed box-on-box substructure of the Flex3 reduces the number of rig move loads, allowing for an efficient rig down and rig up. No cranes are needed to move the rig’s backyard skids, including the engines, mud pumps and mud tanks. Furthermore, the mast, raised and lowered hydraulically, contains an integrated block and top drive that does not need to be removed.