Keppel completes proprietary deepwater accommodation platform
Keppel FELS Ltd. has completed a semisubmersible accommodation platform for deepwater environments.
Worth $95 million, it was built for the 85/15% Special Purpose Co. (SPC) between Keppel Offshore & Marine and JCE Group (JCE) of Sweden.
. Miriam Ericsson, wife of J Christer Ericsson, chairman of JCE, named the platformSafe Concordia at a ceremony at the Western Anchorage.
Safe Concordia will immediately be deployed by ConocoPhillips in the deepwater Timor Sea under a short bareboat charter.
Based on a proprietary design developed by the Deepwater Technology Group (DTG), a technology division of Keppel O&M, the vessel was completed within a record time of 15 months.
"In designing this platform, we deploy engineering concepts that enhances simplicity in construction and optimizes functional requirements. The entire vessel was completely modeled on the sophisticated Tribon system before actual construction began," said Michael Chia, executive director of Keppel FELS.
DTG has developed the hull of this accommodation and service vessel, the KFELS SSAU 3600-GOM-C42, based on the highly successful hull forms of the drilling tenders, West Pelaut, West Menang, and West Alliance, which are deployed in deep waters.
The six-column unit carries accommodation for 400 persons complete with full recreational facilities. It is compact, cost effective, and capable of operating alongside fixed platforms, with a complement of a fully redundant Dynamic Positioning System, a crane with heavy lifting capacity, and fire fighting capabilities.
Keppel O&M and JCE have invested in the semisubmersible accommodation platform in anticipation of expected strong demand for such offshore supporting units.
JCE is expected to increase its shareholding in the SPC to 50% upon securing a qualifying charter. The remaining 50% that is owned by Keppel O&M will be subject to call and put options by JCE and Keppel O&M.
Meanwhile,Safe Astoria, owned by JCE, is undergoing a $5.6 million conversion at Keppel FELS from a drilling semisubmersible to an accommodation platform. The conversion will be completed in less than two months.
03/10/05