(Sept 4): Offshore oil driller Transocean said on Tuesday it would buy peer Ocean Rig UDW Inc in a US$2.7 billion ($3.7 billion) cash-and-stock deal, its second major acquisition this year as the company bets on a recovery in the offshore sector.

The acquisition signals new optimism for offshore drillers, which were hit hard by the steep plunge in oil prices from 2014. Offshore projects, which are more costly than onshore work and take years to develop, became less attractive after oil prices fell to below US$30 a barrel in 2016.

Global crude prices have since recovered to above US$70, renewing producer interest in offshore basins around the world, including Brazil and the US and Mexican Gulf of Mexico.

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