Rowan Fleet Status Report: Multiple Contract Extensions

Rowan Companies plc (NYSE:RDC) updated its drilling rig status and contract information. The company also announced that it would provide quarterly updates in 2016.

The latest fleet report primarily underlines some important contract extensions awarded to the company. Firstly, Rowan Resolute received an extension from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC). The extension is for 273 days at a dayrate of $580,000, calculated by 1.3 times the numbers of days at a reduced dayrate. Notably, the dayrate will be lowered Jul 1 onward to $180,000 for an estimated 210 days. For the rest of the primary term, the dayrate will return to the original rate of $608,000.

Secondly, Rowan Viking has received a contract extension from Lundin. The extension is for 270 days at a dayrate of $275,000 following the primary term. The reduced rate ($282,000) will be considered effective from Jan 1, 2016. The company will include the financial effect of the transaction in the second-quarter 2016 report.

Thirdly, Gilbert Rowe has received a contract extension from Saudi Aramco at the current rate of $69,000 to Dec 31, 2016.

Lastly, the dayrate for Rowan Gorilla VII will be lowered to Standby Rate in mid-August (85% of Operating Rate).

Rowan anticipates jackup operational downtime to account for about 2.5% of in-service days in current and coming quarters. The company anticipates drillship operational downtime of about 5%.

Rowan provides international and domestic contract drilling and aviation services. It focuses mainly on high-specification, premium jack-up rigs and ultra-deepwater drillships. The company's fleet of 31 rigs is located worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, the North Sea, Trinidad and the Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

Rowan holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other well-ranked players from the energy sector are Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) , FutureFuel Corp. (NYSE:FF) and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL) . Each of these stocks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).