Pride International has dedicated and accepted delivery of the ‘Deep Ocean Mendocino’, the third new deepwater drillship to be added to the Pride International fleet, during a ceremony at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in South Korea.

The ‘Mendocino’ is expected to mobilise to the US Gulf of Mexico and commence a five-year contract with a subsidiary of Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) during the second quarter of 2011, following the completion of integrated testing and acceptance by the client.

‘Mendocino’ is one of five new drillships in Pride's deepwater drillship expansion program with SHI. The first two drillships, the ‘Deep Ocean Ascension’ and ‘Deep Ocean Clarion’, were delivered by SHI in 2010. Both rigs are preparing to commence five-year contracts with BP, with ‘Ascension’ expected to mobilise to the Mediterranean Sea, while ‘Clarion’, currently in the US Gulf of Mexico, is preparing for final testing and commissioning. The fourth drillship, ‘Deep Ocean Molokai’, is scheduled to complete construction in December 2011. In December 2010, Pride announced that it had reached an agreement with SHI for the construction of a fifth deepwater drillship with an expected delivery in mid-2013. The agreement includes an option for a sixth unit, which could be exercised during the first quarter of 2011.

In addition to being designed with numerous parallel features intended to reduce the amount of time to construct a well in up to 3,660 metres of water, ‘Mendocino’ is equipped with dynamic positioning in compliance with DPS-3 certification, a 6,000-barrel active fluid storage and handling system, significant storage and deck space and accommodations for up to 200 personnel.