Offshore staff
(Singapore) - Keppel FELS has secured a $270 million contract with GlobalSantaFe Corp. (GSF) to build an ultra deepwater drilling rig to be namedGSF Development Driller III.
Under the contract agreement, GSF will supply the drilling and subsea equipment while Keppel FELS provides the design, engineering and construction of the hull as well as the accommodation quarters for 180 men and marine equipment. The rig is scheduled for delivery in 1Q 2009.
GSF has chosen to build the semisubmersible based on the proprietary design, DSS-51, jointly developed by Keppel's Deepwater Technology Group and Marine Structure Consultants.
Commenting on the demand for deepwater mobile drilling rigs, Choo Chiau Beng, chairman and CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd., said, "The consensus among operators, drillers and service providers is that the market for E&P of hydrocarbons will be sustained over the next few years."
According to Keppel, the DSS-51-designed rig is maintenance-friendly with excellent safety features well suited for both exploration and development drilling as well as workover operations. The vessel will come equipped with a dynamically positioned system (DP2), enabling drilling down to 30,000 ft in water depths up to 10,000 ft in regions such as offshore Brazil, GoM, West Africa and Southeast Asia.
03/03/06
