Houston-based drillship owner Vantage Drilling announced in a statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it signed a drillship construction contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering of Korea.
The high-specification drillship to be delivered in August 2015 is capable of drilling to 40,000 feet in water depths of up to 12,000 feet.
Vantage also announced a $75m convertible bond offering in conjunction with the vessel order, which will fund the initial $59.5m payment to the shipyard in Korea.
The newbuilding is to be named Cobalt Explorer.