The South Australian Government has welcomed the announcement that a new $775 million offshore drilling rig has been commissioned to join in the hunt for oil off the state’s coast.

U.S based Diamond Offshore Drilling has struck a deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries to deliver a new Moss CS60E drilling rig to be used by BP as part of its exploration program off Cenduna.

“The search for oil and gas off South Australia’s coastline has really taken an international dimension with a UK resource giant working with Diamond Offshore Drilling of the US and South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries to construct a rig for use here,” State Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said.

“Indications are this rig will be delivered here after November 2015 to begin deepwater drilling.”

The announcement caps off a resurgent spending in private capital in the State, which has seen $1.5 billion in private capital expenditure over the first three months of the year.