Petrofacs cancels shipyard contract for derrick lay vessel

OCTOBER 12, 2015 — U.K. based Petrofac (LON: PFC) says it has terminated its contract with Chinese shipbuilder ZPMC for construction of a proprietary design Petrofac JSD 6000 deepwater multi-purpose offshore vessel.

Petrofac says the step was taken “due to issues with ZPMC’s performance in respect of the construction” of the vessel.

Ayman Asfari, Group Chief Executive, said: “It is regrettable that it has become necessary for us to take this decision, and the Board is now reviewing its options.”

The JSD 6000 is a customized Ulstein SOC 5000 design vessel featuring J-Lay, S-Lay and heavy lift capabilities, allowing it to serve deepwater and SURF markets as well as shallow water EPCI projects (see earlier story).

When the vessel was announced in January 2014, Petrofacs said it had placed “all critical path lump-sum orders” to build the vessel and that the contracts for the shipyard and electrical and control systems supplier and integrator had been awarded “as the final element in a phasing of contracts designed to ‘de-risk’ critical item delivery, interfaces and integration.”