Keppel to Build $800 Million Semisubmersible

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. (Keppel O&M) through its subsidiaries Caspian Rigbuilders BV (an affiliated company of Keppel FELS) and Caspian Shipyard Company (CSC), has secured a contract from Caspian Drilling Company Ltd., a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), to build a semisubmersible drilling rig, which includes owner furnished equipment, worth about $800 million.
 

Scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2016, the rig will be built to Keppel FELS' proprietary DSSTM 38M design, which has been customised for the Caspian Sea's harsh environment condition.
 

The DSSTM 38M is designed for a drilling depth of up to 40,000ft and operations in 1,000m water depth. To meet the customer's requirements, it has been outfitted to include an 800m self-contained eight point mooring system designed to meet high wind speeds in the harsh Caspian environment. The pontoons have been designed for the rig to transit in channels with shallow draft of less than seven meters.

Mr. Tong Chong Heong, CEO of Keppel O&M said, "Keppel O&M will harness the synergies of its global network of yards in the design and construction of this rig."

Keppel's yard in Azerbaijan, CSC, will carry out the fabrication, integration, testing and commissioning of the rig while its joint-venture yard with SOCAR, Baku Shipyard LLC, will undertake part of the fabrication of the pontoons and columns. Keppel FELS will provide engineering, procurement and technical support.

Jointly developed and owned by Keppel's Deepwater Technology Group and Marine Structure Consultants, the DSSTM 38M design is an enhanced design of the successful DSSTM 38 rigs that are operating in Brazil.

The Caspian Sea holds a tremendous amount of untapped oil and gas reserves and Azerbaijan is the largest offshore producer in the region of both oil and gas. SOCAR stated recently that it intends to build more rigs in the near future.