Offshore driller China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) has been awarded a drilling contract from Italian oil major Eni.

    COSL said on Monday that the contract was awarded to the semi-submersible rig Hai Yang Shi You (HYSY) 982.

    It is worth noting that this was the first time for COSL to provide drilling services to Eni.

    COSL added that the exploration operations with the rig would be conducted in the South China Sea. The contract is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2019.

    As for the rig, the HYSY 982 semi-submersible rig was built at the Dalian Shipyard in China and can drill in water depths up to 5,000 feet. It was delivered in 2018 and is a sister rig of the COSLProspector.

    According to VesselsValue, the rig is currently located in the Sea of Okhotsk offshore north Sakhalin.

    Offshore Energy Today has reached out to Eni, seeking more info on the planned drilling program. We will update the article if we get a response.

    As for COSL, separately, COSL Drilling Europe, the Chinese company’s European subsidiary on Tuesday announced it had secured a contract for its COSL Pioneer drilling rig, as part of the Buzzard II development sanctioned on Monday.