DryShips Inc, a Greek owner of deepwater drilling rigs and vessels that haul iron ore and coal, said it has signed a contract worth $135 million for one of four new rigs that will be delivered next year. The company said in a statement yesterday that its fully owned subsidiary Ocean Rig has been awarded a deal by an unidentified American exploration company for offshore drilling in West Africa for a period of about 300 days, starting in the first or second quarter of next year.
DryShips expects two new rigs to be delivered in the first half of 2011 and another two in the second half.