Sembmarine News

Singapore's Keppel Corp said on Tuesday that Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) has completed a S$4.50 billion ($3.34 billion) buyout of its offshore & marine unit after receiving the necessary shareholder approvals. ($1 = 1.3484 Singapore dollars) (Reuters - Reporting by Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)Sembcorp Marine to Buy Keppel Offshore & Marine for $3.2B, Scraps Merger Plan

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) scrapped a deal to merge with Keppel Corp's offshore and marine unit and form new company, in favour of directly buying the unit for S$4.50 billion ($3.19 billion), the Temasek-backed oil rig builder said on Thursday. The new structure also lowers the value of Keppel's unit by S$378 million from the S$4.87 billion valuation it got according to the terms of the previous agreement struck in April, Sembmarine said. This deal gives Sembmarine's shareholders a bigger stake –– of 46% stake…

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine Ltd (Sembmarine) said on Friday its half-year loss narrowed 78% from a year earlier, as the oil rig builder finished delayed projects after pandemic curbs were eased while also benefiting from cost management.The company said its overall order visibility has improved on the back of rising oil prices and renewed concerns about energy security amid geopolitical tensions.Sembmarine has been a loss-making business since it posted an annual loss in 2018, in an industry plagued by oil price volatility, a drop in new orders, and the pandemic's impact.The company on Friday

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) has agreed to a multi-billion dollar merger with Keppel Corp's larger offshore and marine unit, a year after the Temasek-backed firms began deal talks to cope with an industry downturn.The loss-making oil rig builders have been whiplashed by years of oversupply and oil price volatility as well as a drop in new orders.Such troubles have been exacerbated by the global transition towards renewable energy, consolidation at Chinese and South Korean rivals…

Sembcorp Marine announced it has completed fabrication of the first of three identical battery-operated roll-on/roll-off passenger (RoPax) ferries for Norwegian ferry operator Norled.The newly built Hella will be launched into operation for Norled’s shortsea Hella-Vangsnes-Dragsvik connections in Norway.Designed by Sembcorp Marine subsidiary LMG Marin, the vessels incorporate energy-efficient solutions throughout, including quick connection shore charging plugs; auto-mooring; auto-cross; efficient hull, propulsion and heat recovery systems; as well as minimized hotel and auxiliary loads.

The global marine and offshore engineering group Sembcorp Marine and Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) have agreed to deepen their research and development (R&D) collaboration for the offshore marine and clean energy sectors.By signing a master research collaboration agreement (MRCA) the two parties aim to “shorten the development cycle and time-to-market of new offshore, marine and clean energy solutions achieved through their research efforts”.Sembmarine and A*Star will set up Joint Lab@TBY, a research laboratory and work space at Sembmarine Tuas Boulevard Yard that will facilitate the test-bedding and commercialization of new digital design solutions…

Singapore-based Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) secured new contracts worth $175m, for projects comprising the design and construction of a 12,000-cubic-metre (cbm) LNG bunker vessel as well as repair and modernisation works on 13 cruise ships.The LNG bunker vessel which is for delivery to Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) in 2021 will be constructed at Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard, said the company specialising in a full spectrum of integrated solutions in ship repair, shipbuilding, ship conversion, rig building and offshore engineering & construction.The 112m long and 22m wide LNG bunker vessel will have two GTT Mark III Flex membrane tanks with a combined 12…

Sembcorp Marine (SembMarine) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard (SMIY) plans to buy the intellectual property (IP) of Norway’s Sevan Marine for US$28 million and bring an end to a long-standing intellectual property dispute between the two parties. SMIY will further undertake to take over some of Sevan Marine’s existing service contracts and provide engineering services to some of Sevan’s existing contract partners which have outstanding licence fees payable to Sevan Marine. The litigation between SCM Group and Sevan Marine in the US Courts over the infringement of intellectual property rights of SCM Group will be terminated subject to completion.

Global exploration and production (E&P) capex spending continues to show signs of improvement, underpinned by higher oil prices, says Sembcorp Marine Ltd (SembMarine). Offshore rigs utilization and day rates have stabilized, but rig orders recovery may take some time as the oversupply in most drilling segments has yet to re-balance. The production segment remains encouraging and we are responding to increasing enquiries and tenders for innovative engineering solutions. We continue to make progress in our efforts to develop and commercialise our Gravifloat technology for near-shore gas infrastructure solutions. Demand for repairs and upgrades, especially for LNG carriers and cruise ships remains strong.

Sembcorp Marine announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Shell Offshore for the construction of the hull and topside as well as the integration of the Vito floating production unit (FPU). If the project moves forward, the Vito FPU will be a new facility located in the Mississippi Canyon, approximately 150 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in water depth of 4,050 ft. Comprising a single topside module supported by a 4-column semisubmersible floating hull, the Vito FPU is designed with a throughput capacity of 100,000 bpd of oil and 100 MMSCFD of gas. Final contract award will be dependent upon Shell and its partners sanctioning the project.

A merger between two of the Singapore’s largest offshore rig builders, Keppel Offshore & Marine and Sembcorp Marine, might be on the cards, report local media quoting the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS). DBS said that with orders at a trough and expectations for only a modest recovery, a merger of Singapore's two major rigbuilders could create a global giant that is more competitive and resilient. “A merger could make sense to further streamline their operations, achieve cost synergies and eliminate competition in the medium term,” DBS said. The report analysed  the possible scenarios for rationalization of the O&M assets involving Keppel, SCI, and its listed subsidiary Sembcorp Marine (SMM). The  two companies were in similar talks back in 2001, but were unable to reach an agreement.

Sembcorp Marine has denied the rumours that it was mulling the sale of all or part of subsidiary PPL Shipyard, according to a report in the Business Times. "Neither our rig-building subsidiary PPL Shipyard nor any of the yards from which PPL is operating are up for sale," says the company. SembMarine is understood to have sought valuation for one or more of PPL Shipyard's waterfront assets, sparking market talk over its plans for its rig-building subsidiary. Asset valuations are typically done when owners are evaluating financial options, including divestment. A SembMarine spokesman, responding to an enquiry from The Business Times, denied that the yard group is putting up PPL Shipyard or any of the rig-builder's yards for sale.

Singaporean rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd said it had agreed to buy the 15 percent of PPL Shipyard Pte Ltd it did not already own for about $115 million from PPL Holdings Pte Ltd and E-Interface Holdings Ltd. "This will enable the company to optimally manage the businesses, finance and resources of PPLS, and fully align the latter's corporate strategies to the company to generate sustainable returns," SembMarine said in a statement. PPL Shipyard, 85 percent owned by SembMarine, designs and builds oil rigs and ships. Last week, SembMarine, which has been suffering from a slump in orders due to low oil prices, agreed to buy Norway-based ship design firm LMG Marin AS for $20 million.

Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) has increased its stake in Norway-based Gravifloat AS to 56%, which it intends to fully acquire eventually. In a statement on Wednesday, SembMarine says it acquired a 44% stake in Gravifloat for US$38 million ($52.6 million), in addition to the 12% stake it already owns. The agreement also allows Sembmarine to eventually increase its stake by a further 44% to 100% through an equity purchase at the same price. Gravifloat designs and holds parents for a suite of redeployable, modularised solutions based on its unique near-shore floating yet gravity-based LNG terminal solutions. Developed as a near-shore LNG solution…

After a decade-long boom, there were zero new orders globally for jack-up rigs last year on account of the current oil downturn. Singapore's largest rig builders finding it difficult to navigate safely, reports The Straits Times. With oil prices swooning, and rigs' daily rental rates having crashed to US$92,000 (S$132,000) from US$130,000 in 2014, there's a risk that 70 per cent of two Singaporean leaders - Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine's order book might get cancelled, especially if the Petrobras bribery scandal in Brazil deepens. Analysts at Macquarie caution that Singapore's offshore and marine sector is facing a structural decline, and that the current downturn is even worse than the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009. The other big risk comes from the duo's Brazilian yards.

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.

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.

Singapore's offshore services provider Sembcorp Marine has won an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth over USD1 billion for the Culzean field development project in the North Sea. Sembcorp Marine subsidiary SMOE construction contract  will cover the topsides for the central processing facility, wellhead platform and utilities and living quarter platform, and two connecting bridges. The facility will installed in the UK sector of the Central North Sea. The three-platform complex will be installed in 90 m (295 ft) of water.

The Golden Eagle Living Quarters [LQ] module designed and built by Sembmarine SLP in Lowestoft at its Hamilton Dock, successfully sailed away yesterday passing through the port pier heads at 12:05 BST. The 2000 tonne module, which will provide living accommodation for 140 people, had been loaded onto sea-going barges earlier this month, as had the 550 tonne, 70 metre long bridge and a 220 tonne flare boom for the same project. On Sunday 18th May, the Bridge & Flare modules set sail…

Sembcorp Marine has signed an engineering and construction contract worth about US$1 billion to build the world's largest semi-submersible crane vessel for a unit of Netherlands-based Heerema Offshore Services B.V. Scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2018, the DP3 semi-submersible crane vessel (NSCV) is designed for the installation and decommissioning of major offshore facilities. The contract follows a letter-of-intent to build the vessel signed between Sembmarine's wholly owned subsidiary Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd and Heerema Offshore Services in March this year. It will be equipped with two Huisman heavy-lifting offshore cranes of 10,000 MT lifting capacity each and a large reinforced work deck area.

Low oil prices and muted sentiment in the industry continued to take a toll on Sembcorp Marine's second-quarter earnings. The rigbuilder has announced that net profit for the three months ended June 30 sank 17 per cent to to $79.58 million (SGD 109 million), compared to $96.37 million (SGD 132 million) a year ago. Turnover dipped 10 percent during this period to $882.0 million (SGD 1.208 billion) compared to $979.10 million (SGD 1.341 billion) in 2Q 2014. But this was offset by higher contribution from offshore and conversion projects as well as its ship-repair business. "The persistently low oil prices have escalated the ongoing cuts in global exploration and production capital expenditure.

Offshore engineering, construction and support services specialist Sembmarine SLP said it is investing for the future with the establishment of additional facilities in Lowestoft and Aberdeen. In Lowestoft the company's Offshore Services Group has just moved into new premises at Newcombe House. Offshore Services has wide ranging service capabilities and typically becomes involved at the very early stages of a contract award, identifying the scope of works, building the high level plan and generating the construct/deconstruct work packs. This group is currently responsible for two major on-going offshore projects and, with a number of new contract awards expected over the coming 4/6 weeks…

Sembcorp Marine’s wholly-owned subsidiary Sembawang Shipyard has secured an agreement with RCL Cruises Ltd., a member of the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. group, to perform the extensive revitalisation of Royal Caribbean International’s 137,276-gross tonnage, passenger-ship 'Voyager of the Seas'. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that owns Royal Caribbean International, among other cruise brands. This milestone revitalisation contract will further boost Singapore’s status as a major Asian cruise hub and reinforce Sembawang Shipyard’s reputation as one of the world’s leading shipyards in the highly specialised segment of cruise ships repair, refurbishment and conversion. Mr. P.K.