Brazilian drilling contractor Constellation Oil Services has secured a new contract for its semi-submersible drilling rig, the Atlantic Star, with Australia-based Karoon Energy for operations in the Bauna field offshore Brazil.

Contract Details

The contract, formalized through a letter of intent (LOI), is valued at approximately $25 million and is scheduled to commence in April 2026 for a duration of 77 days. This implies a dayrate of about $325,000. The campaign will be a shallow-water operation in the Santos basin, focused on performing heavy workover on a key producing well.

Significance for the Atlantic Star Rig

The Atlantic Star, which began operations in 1997, is currently under contract with Petrobras until January 2026. This new LOI with Karoon Energy is significant as it potentially marks the rig's first project outside of Petrobras after decades of service. It represents a strategic shift, inaugurating a new era for the asset to explore opportunities, particularly with independent companies that have acquired assets from Petrobras's divestment programs in mature fields.

Background on the Operational Need

Karoon Energy had announced in August that it was seeking a rig to conduct an intervention at well SPS-92 in the Bauna field following a failure of the electrical submersible pump. The new contract directly addresses this operational requirement.

Constellation's Financial Performance

In its third quarter 2025 results, Constellation reported a net loss of $14.3 million, a decline from a net profit of $2.5 million in the same period the previous year. Net revenues remained virtually unchanged at $135.6 million. Despite the quarterly loss, the company maintained a substantial backlog of $1.9 billion, equivalent to 19 rig years of future contracts.