Judy Maksoud , Houston
Lamprell books backlog
Lamprell, a UAE-based engineering services company, has landed a number of significant contracts. In June, the company announced the award of topside and process module fabrication contracts from Kanfa AS, DP Producer AS, and Scana AMT, as well as jackup refurbishment contracts from Saipem (Portugal) Comercio Maritimo, Noble International Ltd., Aban 7 Pte. Ltd., and Nabors Drilling International Ltd. The total value of these contracts is expected to exceed $33 million.
The company also landed process module work from Kanfa AS, with an initial contract award of $8.86 million for the procurement, fabrication, and assembly of process modules for theKnock Allan conversion project for Fred Olsen Production. The converted FPSO will work on the Olowi field offshore Gabon, West Africa, for CNR International Ltd.
DP Producer AS and Scana AMT collectively awarded Lamprell $13.9 million in contracts for the fabrication of topside process modules, a quarters extension, and a disconnectable riser buoy designed by Scana for first use on DP Producer’sDeep Producer dynamically positioned FPSO. Delivery is scheduled for 4Q 2007.
Lamprell secured $5.7 million in jackup rig refurbishment contracts for the Saipem rigPerro Negro II, the Noble Drilling rig Kenneth Delaney, and the Aban rig Aban VII. The company also received an offshore rig upgrade award from Nabors for a comprehensive suite of modifications and repairs to the Nabors 145, now renamed Nabors 867.
In July, Lamprell added to its backlog with a contract with Scorpion Offshore Ltd. to build a LeTourneau Super 116E jackup. The contract has options for four more units.
Delivery for the jackup is scheduled for March 2009.
UMW, Standard build jackups
UMW Oil & Gas and Norway’s Standard Drilling Far East Pte. Ltd. formed a 51:49 joint venture in mid-June to build two jackup rigs for the Southeast Asian market.
Naga 2 is designed to operate in 350 ft (107 m) water depth and drill to 30,000 ft (9,144 m), UMW says.
UMW will take delivery of the first jackup in 3Q 2008 and of the second rig in 2Q 2009.
Keppel makes delivery, takes order
Keppel FELS Ltd. delivered another KFELS Super B Class jackup to Sinvest AS, a subsidiary of the Chennai-owned Aban Singapore Pte. Ltd., in late June.
TheDeep Driller 5 is the yard’s third rig for Sinvest and follows delivery of the Deep Driller 2 in April 2006, and the Deep Driller 3 delivered six months later.
The KFELS Super B Class rig is equipped with cantilever skid-off capabilities and high-capacity hook load for operations in high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) wells. It is capable of operating in 107 m (350 ft) water depth and can drill wells to a depth of 10,668 m (35,000 ft).
The yard also secured rig contracts for a drilling-cum-production jackup rig and a deepwater drilling tender rig. Both rigs will be built to Keppel’s proprietary design.
The jackup contract is the third KFELS N Class jackup rig for Skeie Drilling and Production, a member of the Skeie Group. Keppel expects to deliver the new rig in 4Q 2010. The second contract is from repeat customer Seadrill Asia Ltd. for a semisubmersible drilling tender. Delivery is scheduled for the end of 2009.
Transocean names drillship
Transocean Inc. has named its newbuild Enterprise-class drillshipDiscoverer Americas.
The drillship is designed to work in water depths to 12,000 ft (3,658 m) and to drill wells to a depth of 40,000 ft (12,192 m). TheDiscoverer Americas will begin a four-year drilling contract for Hydro in the Gulf of Mexico by 3Q 2009. Construction of the dynamically positioned, double-hull drillship will take place at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) yard in Okpo, South Korea.
Already under construction at the DSME yard is one of two other newbuild enhanced Enterprise-class drillships, theDiscoverer Clear Leader, which is already under a five-year contract to Chevron Corp. Transocean’s Discoverer Inspiration, also to be built at DSME, will work for Chevron under a five-year contract as well.
All three of the newbuild drillships will work in the GoM.
P-52 goes to work
In late June, Petrobras launched theP-52 semisubmersible platform from the Brasfels shipyard in Angra dos Reis in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Operating at its maximum capacity, the semisubmersible can process 180,000 b/d of oil and can compress 7.5 MMcm/d (265 MMcf/d) of natural gas. The semi is outfitted with a 1.8 MMcm (63.5 MMcf) compressor on standby to guarantee continuous gas flow.
TheP-52 platform is a component of Phase 2 of the Roncador Field Module 1 development program in the Campos basin. The semi will be anchored in 1,800 m (5,905 ft) water depth and interlinked to 29 wells - 18 producing and 11 water injection. The off-take of oil and natural gas will be made through submarine lines.
Once work is completed, the platform will undergo a phase of testing and adjustments before being towed into position in the Campos basin for anchoring and well interconnection.
Operations startup on Roncador is scheduled for September.
