Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from J. Michael Drickamer – Morgan Keegan.
J. Michael Drickamer – Morgan Keegan
On the new rig [inaudible] in Alaska, pardon me if I missed it but did you guys discuss how much these rigs were going to cost to build?
David C. Mannon
These rigs will be $80 million apiece and as we stated today they are going to be going to work in 2010. We’re in the process of finalizing our design and will be constructing these rigs in the same yard that we constructed 269, 270, the yard up in Vancouver Washington. That yard also is doing the ENL work for us building the mast and associated equipment for the upgrade of the Yastreb rig and that yard is also going to be doing the Liberty construction modules. So, we have vetted that yard, spent a lot of time up there, employed a lot of our safety and project management capabilities in that yard and we’re confident that that yard can produce the state of the art rig that we have talked about.
J. Michael Drickamer – Morgan Keegan
So these are not fixed cost construction contracts to build those rigs but you’re pretty confident in that $80 million estimate, correct?
David C. Mannon
We are. We do have the ability to increase our dayrates depending on design changes that BP elects during this process.
J. Michael Drickamer – Morgan Keegan
Let’s talk about that for a second then, do you guys have cost escalators in to the contract over the five year term of the contracts so if your costs due increase you can recover those?
David C. Mannon
We do.
J. Michael Drickamer – Morgan Keegan
Then one more, rig 253 you talked about a new dayrate or a new contract for that rig, did it come with a higher dayrate and did you say what that was?
David C. Mannon
We haven’t stated what that was but yes, it came with a higher dayrate. That’s for a relatively short term, it’s a six month contract but that operator has asked for an extension.
Operator
Your next question comes from Steve Ferazani – Sidoti & Company.
Steve Ferazani – Sidoti & Company
On the international front it looked like you had about 27 rigs in Q1, what are you look at for yearend? Is that going to be 28 or 29? You’re adding what one or two in Kazakhstan?
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