Jack-up Rig Ordered by Qatar Company
Gulf Drilling International (GDI) orders liftboat from Singapore's PPL Shipyard
GDI announced today that they have placed an order for a Pacific Class 400 jack-up drilling rig with PPL Shipyard (“PPL”) for delivery in March of 2013. This is the 3rd new build jack-up rig that GDI has ordered in the last 12 months. The contract was signed by GDI Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ibrahim J. Al-Othman and Dr. Benety Chang, Deputy Chairman of PPL Shipyard.
The rig will come with accommodation for 150 persons, have a 75’ cantilever outreach and be able to operate in water depths of up to 400’ and drilling to depths of 30,000 feet. On delivery, this jack-up will be the most technologically advanced drilling rig operating in Qatar. The total cost to place this rig into service is estimated at $250 Million.
The order with PPL marks one more segment of a US$875 million business expansion plan that will result in GDI adding three new jack-up drilling rigs, two land rigs and two jack-up accommodation barges to its fleet over the next three years.
By 2014, GDI will have eight offshore rigs in service, with five being of the ultra modern cyber variety, and six land rigs. Based on current rig counts, GDI’s share of the Qatar offshore market will exceed 50% while its share of the onshore fleet will remain at 100%.