DIAMOND OFFSHORE SERVICES

Diamond Offshore 2Q Earnings Fall

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., the world's largest offshore oil driller by market capitalization, reported its second quarter earnings fell more than 50 percent. Net income dropped to $53.2 million from $111.7 million in the same period of 1998. Revenues for the second quarter fell to $215.3 million from $323.5 million in the second quarter of 1998. The company did not comment in its earnings statement on business during the second quarter or on the outlook for the remainder of the year.

Keppel FELS Awarded Contract

Keppel FELS Limited (KFELS) has earned a cash bonus and another contract from Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. to upgrade the sister rig, Ocean Rover. The $60 million project on Ocean Baroness only took 17 months and was delivered well ahead of schedule and on budget as well. While work was still in progress in November 2001, the owner, Diamond Offshore was so satisfied with the job that they awarded KFELS with the contract on Ocean Rover.

World's Biggest Floating Diamond Processing Vessel Sets Sail

The world's biggest floating diamond processing vessel will set sail for the first time within three weeks and should be in position off Namibia before Christmas, the Namibian Minerals Corporation (NAMCO) said. "This is the biggest offshore diamond processing plant in the world," NAMCO chairman Alastair Holberton told reporters on a tour of the ship in Cape Town harbor. "We expect that in its first work up year in operation it will harvest 200,000 carats of diamonds worth about $30 million

Keppel FELS Delivers its Rig to Diamond Offshore

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M) has delivered its KFELS Super B Class jackup drilling rig to Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc (Diamond Offshore). The Ocean Shield marks the 20th KFELS B Class drilling rig constructed by Keppel FELS since the launch of this design in 2000. It will also be the first of two KFELS B Class designed rigs commissioned by Diamond Offshore in 2005

Signal Delivers Two Rigs for Diamond Offshore

Signal International, L.L.P. announced the recent completion and return to service of two Diamond Offshore rigs, the Ocean Titan and the Ocean America. The LeTourneau Class 64 jackup, Ocean Titan, entered Signal’s East Pascagoula, Mississippi yard for modifications and repairs on 06 March 2009 and departed on 14 April 2009.  Meanwhile, another Diamond rig, the eight-column semisubmersible Ocean America, spent 97 days on Signal’s Dry Dock at Port Arthur

Fairmount Alpine Towed Rig Ocean Whittington to Gulf

Fairmount Marine’s tug Fairmount Alpine has towed the rig Ocean Whittington from offshore Belem, Brazil, to offshore Galveston, US. For this job Fairmount Marine was contracted by the rigs owner, Diamond Offshore Drilling, for which Fairmount has performed a series of towages in recent years. Ocean Whittington is a semi submersible drilling rig for deep water operations. The rig has worked offshore the northern Brazilian coast since 2009

Offshore News: Offshore Companies in the News

• Diamond Offshore Drilling Limited, completed the previously announced acquisition of the third-generation semisubmersible drilling rig Omega. The rig, purchased for $65 million, has been renamed Ocean Patriot. Diamond Offshore has a fleet of 47 offshore drilling rigs currently consists of 32 semisubmersibles, 14 jack-ups and one drillship. • Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. received a letter of intent from Murphy Sabah Oil Company Ltd

Four-ship Boost for Diamond 53

A Consortium led by the U.K.-based Graig Group and its China-based subsidiary have given a boost to the Diamond 53, a new, future-proof double-hull ultra-handymax bulk carrier design, by signing a letter of intent to build four vessels, with four options, at CSIC yards in China. Delivery of the first of a series of Diamond 53 type vessels is scheduled for 2004. "Double hull bulk carriers are the way forward," says Hugh Williams, CEO of Graig

Keppel FELS Awarded $60 Million Conversion Contract

Keppel FELS Limited (KFELS), the offshore division of Keppel FELS Energy & Infrastructure Ltd (Keppel FELS), has won a contract from Diamond Offshore Drilling for the significant upgrade of its semi-submersible, Ocean Baroness to a semi-submersible with fifth-generation capabilities. Total capital expenditure for the conversion is estimated at $180 million, of which the shipyard's share is approximately $60 million.

BP, CSO Aker Marine Team For Unique GOM Installation

CSO Aker Marine Contractors, Inc. (CAMC), one of the Houston-based entities of the Coflexip Stena Offshore Group, announced the successful mooring of Diamond Offshore's rig the Ocean Confidence using a preset taut leg mooring with polyester rope and CAMC's SEPLA anchoring system while under contract to BP. The mooring location is in the Gulf of Mexico in 6,385 ft. (1,946 m). The project represents a significant advancement in deepwater mooring.