The Deepwater Pathfinder drillship has been secured to commence ERHC's deepwater exploration drilling campaign in the Joint Development Zone. ERHC's technical partner, Addax Petroleum, expects to receive delivery of the Deepwater Pathfinder at the end of the third quarter 2009 and intends, subject to Joint Development Authority approval, to commence the drilling of the Kina prospect in Block 4 of the Joint Development Zone shortly thereafter.
The Deepwater Pathfinder is a fifth generation dynamically positioned deepwater drilling rig capable of drilling in water depths up to 3,048 metres. The contract with Transocean requires the Deepwater Pathfinder to drill four wells in total with a minimum commitment of 120 days. The Transocean contract anticipates that the Deepwater Pathfinder will start drilling operations in the fourth quarter of 2009 once it has completed a drilling campaign for a third party operator in Nigeria.
ERHC Energy has a 19.5 percent participating interest in JDZ Block 4, in which Addax is the operator.
