Ocean Rig gets $652 million LOA for drillship

Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ: ORIG), which is majority owned by Dry Ships, Inc.(NASDAQ: DRYS), reports that it has received a Letter of Award (LOA) for its ultra deepwater drillship “Ocean Rig

Ensco orders its eighth Samsung drillship

London-headquartered Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV) has ordered a new advanced-capability, ultra-deepwater drillship. It will be built at Samsung Heavy Industries, Co. Ltd.’s shipyard in Geoje, South Korea. The vessel, ENSCO DS-8, will

Incat Crowther to design 12 Fast Supply Vessels for Brazil

ETP Engenharia Ltda. is to build 12 Incat Crowther designed fast supply vessels at its Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, shipyard. Six of the 48 m monohull vessls will be owned by

Qatar’s GDI orders jack-up at PPL Shipyard

Al-Othman and Dr. Benety Chang, Deputy Chairman of PPL Shipyard.

The rig will have accommodations for 150 persons, a 75 ft cantilever outreach and be able to operate in water depths of up to 400 ft and drilling to depths of 30,000 ft. On delivery, it 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 is part of an $875 million business expansion plan that will see 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.

Mr. Al-Othman said: “We are most familiar with the PPL rig designs and consider them to be very suitable for the requirements of our clients here in Qatar. PPL is well known as a high quality rig builder and we are pleased to have placed our first order with them. I look forward to adding another high-spec premium rig to our fleet and am confident that this rig will perform to our clients’ satisfaction.

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 p while its share of the onshore fleet will remain at 100 percent. GDI is therefore well on its way to becoming the premier provider of drilling rig and associated services in Qatar.rcent

Dr Benety Chang, Deputy Chairman of PPL Shipyard said “We are pleased that Gulf Drilling International has chosen our latest proprietary Pacific Class 400 series, a proven design that has been well-accepted by the industry. Since the launch of this Pacific Class 400 series, five such jack-ups have been ordered with one unit delivered and operating in West Africa. Another rig will soon be delivered and is scheduled for deployment in Thailand.

“PPL Shipyard’s ownership of the Pacific Class 400 design gives us the flexibility of design control and the ability to customize turnkey solutions to suit our customers’ unique project requirements. Our ability to deliver early and meet Gulf Drilling International’s commitments was an added attraction for this particular rig contract. We would like to thank Gulf Drilling International for their trust and confidence in PPL Shipyard and are committed to the timely delivery of this jack-up rig. On completion, the rig would proceed to work in Qatar.”

April 4, 2012

Keppel Shipyard gets contracts to upgrade two FPSOs

The first project is from SBM Offshore and is to refurbish and upgrade the FPSO Xikomba (pictured here). Work on this FPSO unit is expected to be completed by third quarter 2013.

Keppel Shipyard’s scope of work on FPSO Xikomba comprises life extension, refurbishment and upgrading of existing topside modules and turret mooring system as well as the installation and integration of new topside modules. The FPSO vessel will subsequently proceed to Angola for completion.

Leased by Eni Angola S.p.A for 12 years for the development of Block 15/06, offshore Angola, FPSO Xikomba is jointly owned by SBM Offshore and Sonangol, Angola’s national oil and gas company.

Mr. Bruno Chabas, Chief Executive Officer of SBM Offshore, said, “Long-term business partnerships are key to our performance, our ability to deliver and our ambition in furthering our lead in the FPSO market. We value our proven partnership with Keppel Shipyard. The award of the FPSO Xikomba is another milestone in this deep long-term relationship.”

Keppel Shipyard’s second project is to modify and upgrade Bumi Armada’s FPSO Armada Claire. This includes refurbishment and life extension works as well as installation and integration of topside modules. Work is expected to commence in third quarter 2012, and complete in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Upon completion, FPSO Armada Claire will be deployed in the Balnaves Field, northwest Australia.

Mr. Hassan Basma, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bumi Armada, said, “With the trust and collaboration of committed and capable business partners, we have grown and enhanced our fleet of quality FPSO vessels. The Armada Claire project is our tenth major collaboration with Keppel Shipyard, and we are confident that it will be professionally executed.”

April 4, 2012

Seadrill subsidiary places $568 million semi order at Jurong

Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard has secured a US$568 million contract to build a harsh-environment ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig from North Atlantic Drilling Limited, a 74 percent owned subsidiary of Seadrill Limited. According

Bergen Group Fosen awarded further OCV contract by Volstad Maritime

Norway’s Bergen Group Fosen has been awarded a contract to build a large and advanced OCV (Offshore Construction Vessel) for Volstad Maritime AS. The contract has an estimated value of NOK 750

Keppel AmFELS wins $205 million repeat order from Mexico

Keppel AmFELS LLC, Brownsville, Texas, has won a contract from Mexico’s Perforadora Central SA de CV (Perforadora Central) to build a repeat jack-up rig worth US$205 million. Slated for delivery from the

Giant ice-class AHTS on sea trials following completion by Chouest

The vessel’s name was selected by Elizabeth Itta, a 12-year-old from Nuiqsut, a city in North Alaska, who won an essay contest suggesting it. Aiviq, in the Inupiat language, means walrus. Natives of the Alaskan northwest region speak Inupiat.

Itta and her family were flown to Port Fourchon, La., to attend last month’s naming ceremony, where she christened the ship.

The 5,000 dwt Arctic ice class anchor handling tug supply vessel is currently undergoing sea trials off Port Fourchon, and will soon be headed to Alaska to support Shell’s drilling programs in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

Check out the video here: http://youtu.be/f678c_k4SUc

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April 1, 2012

AIVIQ2 500

AIVIQ 500

Farstad places new AHTS orders at STX OSV

STX OSV Holdings Limited has secured new contracts for the construction of two Multifunctional Deep Water Anchor Handling/Offshore Service vessels for Farstad Shipping. The total value of the contracts amounts to approximately

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