The Songa Mercur is a semi-submersible

Semi-submersible

A semi-submersible is a specialised marine vessel with good stability and seakeeping characteristics. The semi-submersible vessel design is commonly used in a number of specific offshore roles such as for offshore drilling rigs, safety vessels, oil production platforms and heavy lift cranes.The...

 drilling platform designed by Friede & Goldman, ex Shelf 10 and La Muralla. It is capable of drilling

Offshore drilling

Offshore drilling refers to a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently produce hydrocarbons which lie in rock formations beneath the seabed...

 in water up to a depth of 1200 feet.

In May 2006 Songa Offshore signed a nine-month contract with Chevron

Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...

 to use the rig in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. A contract was later signed with Santos Ltd.

Santos Ltd.

Santos Ltd. is a large Australian oil and gas exploration company. Its name is an acronym for South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search.-Operations:...

, which was originally nine months and was extended to a year and then a year and a half.

External links

• Songa Mercur official executive summary (PDF)
• Virtual tour: http://songaoffshore.no/rigtours/mercur