Offshore staff

SINGAPORE -- Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. subsidiary Keppel FELS Ltd. has secured a $371-million contract to build the first KFELS N Class jackup rig for ProJack AS, a member of the Skeie Group.

When delivered at the end of 1Q 2010, the KFELS N Class rig will be the largest jackup rig ever to be built in Singapore, the company says. It also will be among the world's largest jackup rigs to be constructed for the North Sea.

According to KFELS, the new design provides the flexibility of having a jackup unit that can undertake drilling and production activities concurrently. The rig will readily accept process modules for production activities, the company says.

"This is our second major partnership with a trend-setting customer to develop and build new products to meet the rising needs of the oil and gas industry," says Choo Chiau Beng, chairman and CEO of Keppel O&M.

"About a year ago, Keppel saw opportunities arising from the Norwegian North Sea sector. At the same time, the Skeie Group was also on the lookout for an innovative rig for the marginal fields in the North Sea. Our R&D arm assessed this demanding and technically challenging requirement, and worked with Skeie Group to develop this innovative KFELS N Class self-elevating jackup solution," Choo says.

The KFELS N Class is suited for operation in harsh weather conditions, and with water depths to 122 m (400 ft) and drilling depths 10,668 m (35,000 ft). The design is in full compliance with the requirements for rigs operating in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. No other jackup rigs on order today are designed specifically to meet these requirements, the company says.

Under the agreement, Keppel will have a 10% equity in the rig.

12/06/2006