Offshore drilling contractor Transocean informed on Monday that Reliance Industries has elected to exercise its contractual option to terminate the contract for the ultra-deepwater drillship Discoverer India.

The termination is effective December 2016, prior to its expiration in January 2021.

In accordance with the contract, Transocean said it will be compensated by Reliance and its partners for the early termination through a lump-sum payment of approximately $160 million.

The drillship started working for Reliance in India in late 2010 under a minimum five-year drilling contract which Reliance extended to ten years.

The Discoverer India is a 2010-built drillship of a Transocean Offshore Enhanced Enterprise Class built by the South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME).

The rig is equipped to drill wells up to 35,000 feet total depth in water depths of 10,000 feet and, with additional equipment, can be upgraded to drill up to 40,000 feet total depth in water depths up to 12,000 feet.

Earlier today, the drilling contractor informed it has secured a contract for its harsh-environment, semi-submersible drilling rig Transocean Barents for drilling operations offshore Canada.

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com