Al Zubarah News

The technical launch of first Doha-class air defense corvette ordered by the Qatari Ministry of Defence within the national naval acquisition program, took place at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia).The corvette Al Zubarah is named after a ruined and ancient fort located on the north western coast of the Qatar peninsula in the Al Shamal municipality, about 105 km from the Qatari capital of Doha.The vessel, which will be delivered in 2021, is designed consistent with the RINAMIL rules, said a release by Fincantieri."She will be a flexible type of ship capable of fulfilling a range of tasks, from surveillance with sea rescue capabilities to being a fighting vessel…

Keppel FELS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) has delivered Halul, a KFELS B Class jackup rig, to Gulf Drilling International Ltd. (q.s.c) (GDI) of Qatar. Completed on 21 January 2016, ten days ahead of schedule, and on budget, it is the first rig that Keppel FELS has delivered this year. Halul is also the fifth KFELS B Class jackup rig delivered to GDI. With its continued successful partnership with Keppel FELS, GDI has renewed options for two more repeat KFELS B Class rigs for deliveries in 2018 and 2019. The KFELS B Class rigs have a strong track record for GDI. Sister rigs Dukhan and Al Zubarah are operating successfully for Qatar Petroleum while Al Khor is performing well for Shell.

Keppel FELS Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, has secured a contract from Gulf Drilling International Ltd. of Qatar to build a repeat high-specification KFELS B Class jackup rig worth US$227 million. As part of the contract, GDI has options for two more KFELS B Class rigs for deliveries in 2017. On the new jackup, to be named Halul, Keppel FELS has already begun preparations for its scheduled delivery in 1Q 2016 during the course of discussions with GDI. Upon delivery, Halul will be chartered to Qatar Petroleum for five years. Halul is GDI's fifth KFELS B Class jackup rig ordered from Keppel. The fourth rig, Dukhan, was recently delivered last month.

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) has delivered its fourth jackup rig, "Dukhan", to Gulf Drilling International Ltd. q.s.c. (GDI) of Qatar nine days ahead of schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record. “Dukhan” is a high specification rig built to Keppel’s proprietary KFELS B Class design. Keppel FELS has previously delivered three similar jackup rigs to GDI; "Al Khor", "Al Zubarah" and "Les-hat". Mr Wong Kok Seng Managing Director (Offshore) of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) and Keppel FELS said, “We are pleased to deliver another major project to GDI early, on budget and to their highest satisfaction. It is a result of the strong partnership we have built with GDI over the years on a variety of projects.

LNG Carrier Al Zubarah and Its Ship Management Company Earn Green Award Certificate. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) today announced that the MOL-managed LNG carrier Al Zubarah and its ship management company MOL LNG Transport Co., Ltd. (President: Reizo Funakoshi), received a Green Award Certificate from the independent non-profit Green Award Foundation based in Rotterdam on December 13. The certificate, based on stringent audits, is given to vessels and ship management companies for excellence in safety and environmental protection. The Al Zubarah follows the LNG carrier Dukhan, managed by an MOL LNG Transport (Europe) Ltd. inLondon, which received the same certification in October.

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) has secured contracts to build two high-specification KFELS B Class Bigfoot jackup rigs from returning customer Gulf Drilling International Ltd. (q.s.c.) (GDI) of Qatar, worth about US$393 million. These latest contracts follow closely after Keppel FELS was awarded a newbuild jackup rig contract by one of GDI's Shareholders, Japan Drilling Company, in March this year. Scheduled for delivery in the third quarters of 2013 and 2014, the two latest rigs mark GDI's first new orders in six years, and will increase the company's jackup fleet count to seven units.

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), has completed the construction of its second jackup drilling rig for Gulf Drilling International Ltd (GDI), a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Japan Drilling Co., Ltd. (JDC). At a ceremony on 26 January 2008, the rig was named Al-Zubarah, after one of Qatar’s very important economic centres, by Mr Mohammad Al-Shirrawi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GDI. Built to Keppel’s proprietary KFELS B Class design, the rig has been customised to GDI’s requirements for drilling in the Arabian Gulf. Al-Zubarah is capable of operating in water depths of up to 300 feet, drilling 30,000 feet deep and accommodating up to 110 men.

Keppel Shipyard Limited (Keppel Shipyard) has entered an Alliance Service Agreement for the drydocking of a fleet of Moss Rosenburg (MOSS) type of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers chartered by Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Ltd (Qatargas). The five-year agreement was signed with MO LNG Transport Co., Ltd (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kaisha Ltd (NYK) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K-Line). The vessels under the fleet agreement are Al Zubarah, Al Khor, Al Rayyan, Al Wajbah, Broog, Zekreet, Al Wakrah, Doha, Al Bidda, and Al Jasra. Keppel Shipyard has been servicing this fleet of LNG carriers from Qatargas since 1999. The scope of work involves drydocking for survey, maintenance and repair.