In late February 2026, the private Norwegian company Eldorado Drilling made an unexpected $300 million cash counterbid for the drillship Deep Value Driller (DVD), surpassing a prior $272.5 million offer from Italian contractor Saipem. The seller, a separate entity also named Deep Value Driller, accepted Eldorado's bid, prompting Saipem to announce it would not complete its acquisition. The deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2026.

Eldorado's Market Position and Strategy

Eldorado's re-entry as a buyer was surprising as it had recently sold two of three new drillships, retaining only the Zonda, which is under contract to Petrobras in Brazil and managed by Ventura Offshore. The company is backed by high-profile Norwegian investors, and market experts characterized the move as typical Norwegian investor behavior: identifying an early opportunity in a constructive market and acting decisively to secure a good deal.

Current Charter and Management Transition

Saipem has been chartering the DVD on a bareboat basis since November 2023. The rig worked in West Africa until approximately October 2025 and moved to Indonesia in early January 2026 to begin a contract with Eni. Saipem's charter expires on 31 July 2026, and market sources indicate the company is unlikely to renew it, meaning Eldorado will need to find a new manager for the drillship. Potential candidates include Ventura Offshore, which already manages Eldorado's Zonda and has a Southeast Asian presence through its semi-submersible SSV Catarina (also working for Eni in Indonesia), and Vantage Drilling.

Future Work and Uncertainties

While it was previously understood that the DVD would be awarded a long-term Eni campaign in Indonesia if Saipem became the owner, that outcome is now less certain with Eldorado's acquisition. Saipem's official statement reserves its right to take legal action to safeguard its interests concerning the DVD. The drillship itself is a GustoMSC P10000 design, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2014. The seller had acquired it for $65 million in 2021 and invested a further $41 million in a reactivation program.