Tay Kim Hock News

A number of former executives of Keppel Corp have been arrested by Singaporean authorities in a probe related to charges its rig-building unit bribed Brazilian officials, Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper reported. The report said that  six executives had been arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), including Tay Kim Hock, former president and chief executive of Keppel Fels Brasil, and are currently out on bail. The former Keppel executives were reported to have been called in for questioning relating to a corruption scandal that saw Keppel agreeing to $422.2m in penalties in the US, Brazil and Singapore. According to Reuters…

The consortium of FELS Setal SA, a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) in Brazil, and Technip Engenharia S/A (Technip), an affiliate of Technip S.A., has been awarded the P-52 contract from Petrobras Netherlands BV (PNBV). The signing ceremony of the US$775 million contract to build the semi-submersible production platform was witnessed by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the presence of more than 1000 guests at FELS Setal’s Brasfels Yard. Delivery of the floating production unit is due in 41 months for possible deployment in the Roncador field, a deepwater location of the Campos Basin, off the north coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

FELS Setal Group, the Brazilian subsidiary of Keppel Corporation through Keppel Offshore & Marine, has won a contract to construct two Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) for Maersk Brasil (Brasmar) Ltda. The contract includes an option for the construction of two more vessels. The two UT745L PSVs will be the largest to be built in Brazil and are suitable for operations in harsh environments. To be delivered in July and November 2005 respectively, the construction of the vessels will comply with stringent international shipbuilding standards. Mr Jorn Steen Nielsen, President of Maersk Broker, said, “We have visited the facilities of BrasFELS yard, and are impressed with their project management ability, safety standards, engineering and production capabilities as well as housekeeping.