Offshore staff
(West Africa) - The newly christened, $114 millionSeaDrill 3 will leave Singapore next moth for Nigeria for a two-year drilling program with Total.
Built to the KFELS B Class design, the jackup is capable of operating in 350 ft water depth, drilling down to 30,000 ft and accommodating 110 men.
It will join the ranks of seven other such rigs operating in different parts of the world.
Currently, another 19 KFELS B Class rigs are under construction at Keppel FELS and one in Keppel AmFELS.
"This represents a total market share of 46% of drilling jackups on order being built to the KFELS B Class design," says Keppel FELS Ltd. of Singapore.
The rig is the first of four jackups that Keppel is building for SeaDrill.
"Construction of the other three rigs is progressing well in accordance to schedule. Their expected deliveries are between mid-2007 and 2Q 2008," says Choo Chiau Beng, chairman & CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd., the parent group of Keppel FELS.
In March 2004, Keppel FELS signed the first jackup contract with Odfjell Drilling, and a second a year later.
But SeaDrill, on acquiring Odfjell Invest Ltd., the holding company for the rigs, exercised Odfjell's option to a third rig.
The fourth jackup rig order was made by Seatankers Management Co Ltd., which has also assigned its rights to the rig to SeaDrill.
With this order, SeaDrill has five jackup rigs, four semisubmersibles, and two drillships under construction.
The company has also recently acquired a 53% interest in Norwegian drilling contractor Smedvig ASA.
04/27/06
