Rig Construction News

Singapore's Keppel Offshore & Marine, a company famous for its offshore rig construction, is set to undergo a major transformation, look for opportunities as a developer and integrator of offshore energy and infrastructure assets, and exit the offshore rig building business.The company will be restructured into three parts, separating construction and ownership of legacy drilling rig assets from its core operations, "which will be slimmer, asset-light and people-light.""Keppel Corporation announced today that amidst the global energy transition and major disruptions facing the oil industry…

Saudi-based International Maritime Industries (IMI) has announced that it had signed a licence agreement with GustoMSC, a subsidiary of Houston rig and equipment builder National Oilwell Varco (NOV).The agreement entails a new GustoMSC drilling jack-up design which will utilize the modern manufacturing capabilities currently planned for at IMI, said a press note.As a result of the agreement IMI will be fully prepared for its first production operations anticipated in 2021.Fathi K Al Saleem, CEO of IMI, said: "This is a major step for IMI in securing the required knowledge and getting the best rig design which will be tailored to our state of the art construction capabilities…

Rapp Marine informs it will supply a complete electric deck machinery package for a new 130-meter-long krill vessel under construction for Aker BioMarine at Vard Group AS in Norway. The total contract value is 1 billion NOK (Approximately US$118.5 million). “This is our first delivery to a krill vessel,” said Tor-Idar Øye, Rapp Marine VP Sales. All plans and specifications for the new vessel have been developed in cooperation with fishermen from Aker BioMarine and engineers from Vard Group AS, according to Aker BioMarine.

DW’s recently released quarterly World Oilfield Services Market Forecast (OFS) and World Oilfield Equipment Market Forecast (OFE) continue to suggest 2016 will see the start of a barren period for the offshore OFS and OFE sectors. In line with previous editions of the report, a significant drop in project sanctioning, coupled with low rig dayrates, will see annual OFS expenditure average $49 billion (bn) over 2016-2020, while OFE expenditure will decline from $69bn to $43bn over the same period. Growth in offshore drilling seen since 2010 has been sharply halted – offshore well spuds saw an 8% reduction last year and a further 9% is anticipated for 2016.

Rig-builder Sembcorp Marine (SembMarine) is currently embroiled in a dispute with Marco Polo Marine over a US$214.3 million rig construction contract that Marco Polo wants terminated. In a statement on Monday, Macro Polo reiterated its position that it is not obliged to take delivery of the rig, as Sembcorp Marine unit PPL Shipyard had failed to comply with certain contractual obligations. A unit of Marco Polo Marine has found cracks on all three legs of the rig and is seeking a refund of about $21.4 million it paid initially from PPL. The rig builder filed a case against Marco Polo in the Singapore High Court. Macro Polo alleged that 70 cracks were found on all three legs of the rig during a test, and more than 180 new cracks were found during a partial second test.

Make no mistake, the commercial maritime industry will always revolve around heavy duty machinery and mega-machines designed to weather some of the toughest operating conditions on earth. But in recent years a proliferation of Software Solutions has evolved to help the machines operate more efficiently and cost effectively. MR editors report on latest developments in maritime specific Software Solutions. Kværner Verdal AS selected AVEVA Bocad Steel and AVEVA Bocad Offshore for use at its design and fabrication yard in Verdal…

Marco Polo Marine has unilaterally terminated a rig building order worth US$214.3 million from a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine. Sembcorp Marine on early Wednesday morning said its subsidiary, PPL Shipyard, will regard the termination by Marco Polo Drilling (I) of the US$214.3 million newbuild contract as "repudiatory breach of the contract". The response comes after Marco Polo Marine, of which Marco Polo Drilling is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, on Tuesday said in a filing to the Singapore Exchange that it will terminate the contract for a jack-up rig under construction at PPL Shipyard. Sembcorp Marine refers to the announcement by Marco Polo Marine Ltd in respect of the termination by Marco Polo Drilling (I) Pte. Ltd.

With the release of ShipConstructor 2016 R1.1, SSI said it provides additional enhancement for the offshore rig construction market, particularly with regards to weld management. These new features will benefit all shipbuilders, the developer noted, but said it especially benefits those wishing to expand into the offshore sector. ShipConstructor 2016 R1.1 is particularly geared toward early adopters of ShipConstructor's latest productivity-enhancing capabilities; the predominant portion of new features are focused on ShipConstructor Subscription Advantage Pack clients. According to SSI, clients are increasingly wishing to diversify into oil rig construction. To remain competitive they require constant innovation and embrace early adoption of software advancements.

Lamprell announced it has completed construction on jackup drilling rig Greatdrill Chaaru, delivering the rig to Greatship Global Energy Services Pte. Ltd. Greatdrill Chaaru has been designed according to the LeTourneau Super 116E (Enhanced) Class design. The rig’s construction was undertaken on a fast-track basis, completed 18 months after initial steel cutting. The naming ceremony was held at Lamprell’s Hamriyah facility in the UAE on February 9. Lamprell said Greatdrill Chaaru is due to sail to its drilling location in India within the next few days, joining its sister vessel, the Greatdrill Chaaya, which Lamprell delivered in January 2013. Both rigs are contracted to work for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) in the offshore Indian territorial waters.

Land rig provider Patterson-UTI Energy Inc has halved its full-year rig construction program to 16 new high-tech APEX rigs as oil producers cut back on drilling due to weak prices. Patterson's decision follows rival Helmerich & Payne Inc's announcement last week that it would halve its FlexRig construction program. Oil producers have been slashing capital expenditure budgets in the wake of a sustained fall in oil prices, dealing a blow to rig providers and oilfield service providers. Patterson also said on Thursday that it would cut its capital spending budget by about 29 percent for 2015. The company, which had earlier planned to build eight new APEX rigs each quarter, set a capital budget of about $750 million for the year.

Lamprell published a trading update ahead of its results for the year ending December 31, 2014, stating it has delivered a robust operational and financial performance in 2014 as a result of strong project execution, favorable phasing of rig construction cycles and some one-off elements. The group reports it has seen a strong rate of conversion of its bid pipeline with six new build jackup rig orders won and several smaller awards signed recently. In the second half of the year, Lamprell commenced construction for four new build jackup rigs, two for Ensco rigs and two for Shelf Drilling.

Mermaid Maritime Public Company announced that it has marked the start of its new vessel / rig construction by participating in a steel cutting ceremony for its performance class tender rig ‘MTR-3’ and DP2 multipurpose subsea dive support and construction vessel ‘Mermaid Ausana’. The ceremony took place at the shipyards of China Merchants Heavy Industry in China in Nantong and Shenzhen, respectively. The ‘MTR-4’, which will be identical to the ‘MTR-3’, is scheduled to have its steel cutting ceremony two months later. The ‘MTR-3’ and ‘MTR-4’ will be state-of-the-art performance class tender assist drilling rigs incorporating the latest modern design features, and will be the most advanced tender rigs in the market when they are delivered in 2016.

Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. says that, through its subsidiary Gulf Island L.L.C., it has received an award letter from Arena Offshore, LP for the fabrication of two jacket/piles and topsides for Arena’s projects located in the Gulf of Mexico. Delivery for these units is set for late second quarter 2015. Revenue backlog and man-hours associated with this project will be reported in connection with the Company’s announcement of financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2014. Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is a leading fabricator of offshore drilling and production platforms, hull and/or deck sections of floating production platforms and other specialized structures used in the development and production of offshore oil and gas reserves.

An Improved Risk and Safety Assessment Process for the offshore oil & gas industry – and just in time. Alion’s Measure of Total Integrated System Survivability (MOTISS) has been around a long time. Having previously earned its stripes primarily for naval applications, Alion began to market the service to the offshore oil & gas industry in the messy wake of the Macondo disaster. That event brought to the forefront, more than ever, the need to prepare for similar occurrences in the future and more importantly, increase industry’s ability to conduct analysis. Today, a version called MOTISS-IBA (Integrated Barrier Analysis) brings the same comprehensive power of MOTISS to the offshore oil industry that previously was only available to the world’s Navies.

COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited announce that contracts each in excess of US$200-million for two advanced semi-submersible accommodation vessels to be constructed in China have been declared effective. The accommodation rigs are to be built by COSCO subsidiary COSCO (Qidong) Offshore who are responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction of the two semi-submersible vessels. They will be of Gusto MSC Ocean 500 design and will be equipped with 500 beds, DP3 station keeping systems, 10-point chain mooring and 300 ton cranes.

Sembcorp Marine's PPL Shipyard secures US$220.5-million contract to construct a jack-up rig for Bot Lease Co. BOT Lease Co., Ltd. is a leasing company of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ which is under the umbrella of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The contract price is US$220.5 million (excluding cost of BOTL’s project management team and pre-operations cost). Scheduled for delivery at end January 2015, the new rig will be built based on PPL Shipyard’s established proprietary Pacific Class 400 design. This design represents the latest generation of high-specification jack-up rigs that are capable of operating in deeper waters of 400 feet and drilling high pressure and high temperature wells to depths of 30,000 feet.

Prospector Offshore Drilling agrees with two Chinese shipyards to extend options on 6 rig construction agreements. An agreement with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore Co. extends the expiry dates on three of its rig construction option agreements with DSIC Offshore that were previously due to expire on 31 December 2012 have been extended until 31, March 2013. Another agreement with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. extends he expiry dates on three of its rig construction option agreements with SWS that were previously due to expire on 31 December 2012, until 30, June 2013. Prospector Offshore Drilling (PROS) currently has contracts in place for the design, construction and delivery of four F&G JU2000E high specification, harsh environment (HS/HE) jack-up drilling rigs.

Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás (QGOG) partners with Sete Brasil in charter agreements for 3 drilling rigs. QGOG, the largest Brazilian provider of drilling and production services, announce that, in partnership with Sete Brasil, they have signed a charter and services agreement for three semi-submersible ultra-deep water drilling rigs, named Urca, Bracuhy and Mangaratiba. QGOG will operate the rigs and QGOG Constellation, through one of its subsidiaries, holds a 15% equity stake in each rig. The drilling rigs will be built at the BrasFels shipyard in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with local content above 55%. They are expected to begin operating in 2016, 2018 and 2019, respectively and are part of the package of 21 drilling rigs negotiated between Sete Brasil and Petrobras.

Statoil has awarded the contract for construction of two new drilling rigs for use on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) to Songa Offshore. The contract for the two category D rigs is worth an aggregate USD 2,47 billion for a fixed eight-year charter period. "Stepping up our industrialisation of the NCS we are very pleased to announce that Songa will help realise our industrial approach and we wish to give them recognition for their long-term perspective on this partnership", said Jon Arnt Jacobsen, Statoil's chief procurement officer.

Technip, in partnership with DSME, was awarded by DONG E&P and BAYERNGAS, a contract for the HEJRE project development, offshore Denmark, at a water depth of 70 meters. This contract covers engineering, procurement, fabrication, hook-up, and commissioning assistance for a fixed wellhead and process platform and associated facilities. The platform includes 11,500-ton topsides supported by a 6,500-ton jacket, and is designed to process high pressure and high temperature hydrocarbons fluids. The platform, which also comprises a living quarter to accommodate 70 people and a flare, will be capable of producing up to 76 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and 35,000 barrels of oil per day.

Lamprell, a leading provider of diversified engineering and contracting products and services to the onshore and offshore oil and gas and renewables industry, announces the exercise by National Drilling Company ("NDC"), Abu Dhabi, of their options for Lamprell to build a further two jackup rigs in addition to the four rigs currently under construction by Lamprell for NDC. The new agreement with NDC is for the construction and delivery of two jackup rigs valued at US$ 166.65 million each. As with the existing rigs under construction, these additional rigs will be completely outfitted and equipped, LeTourneau designed, self- elevating Mobile Offshore Drilling Platforms of a Super 116E (Enhanced) Class design.

Drilling contract expert Cary A. Moomjian, Jr. For over 35 years, Mr. Moomjian served in senior legal and commercial positions in the contract drilling industry, over half of which was as VP and General Counsel for two major drilling companies (Ensco and Santa Fe). His expertise includes domestic and international legal, contractual, commercial, and risk management matters including drilling and oil service contracts, joint venture relationships, shipyard rig construction projects, financings, mergers, and acquisitions as well as crisis response management. Mr. Moomjian also has substantial experience in dispute resolution and litigation management. Mr.

According to Reuters, China is emerging as a strong contender to the traditional offshore oil rig manufacturing powerhouses of Singapore and South Korea as shipyards such as COSCO Corp fight for a bigger market share in a deepwater exploration boom. China started making jack-up rigs for shallow-water drilling and semi-submersibles for deepwater operations about seven years ago. In that short span of time, industry data shows it managed to secure a fifth of the $72 billion orders placed, tempting customers with aggressive pricing. China is able to tempt customers by aggressive pricing, but big customers still favour Korea and Singapore, as Chinese quality and reliable delivery are concerns, says the Reuters report.