The quay at Lamprell’s Sharjah yard
Lamprell has scored another hit with the announcement it has received a new contract for a jackup rig.
The deal came from Dev Drilling, a Jindal Group company based in Singapore, and calls for the construction and delivery of a completely outfitted and equipped LeTourneau designed self-elevating mobile offshore drilling platform of the Super 116E (Enhanced) Class.
The rig is designed to operate in water depths of up to 350 ft and will have a rated drilling depth of 30,000 ft.
Lamprell will fabricate the jackup rig in its yard in Hamriyah. The construction phase is expected to take approximately 18 months.
“This is the second rig that Lamprell will construct for Jindal, following on from the announcement in November 2011 pursuant to which Lamprell is constructing a Super 116E rig for delivery to Jindal in November 2013,” a Lamprell spokesman said.
As part of the contract, Jindal has an option for Lamprell to build a further jackup rig, exercisable during a period of six months from the effective date of the contract.
Peter Whitbread, CEO, Lamprell, said: “We are delighted to be announcing a new contract win from Jindal for the construction of a Super 116E jackup rig. This is our second order from a highly valued customer and it further underlines both Lamprell’s strong position within the market for jackup rigs as well as the continuing support of our existing customers. We have developed an excellent working relationship with Jindal and we look forward to delivering successfully on this crucial project.”
GREATDRILL CHAAYA
Lamprell recently completed the construction of the jackup rig Greatdrill Chaaya and delivered it to Greatship Global Energy Services. Completion and delivery of the rig, on budget and just 18 months after initial steel cutting, was marked with a ceremony at Lamprell’s Hamriyah facility in the UAE, followed by the rig’s departure from the facility in January to its drilling location in India. The project was completed with 3.9 million man-hours without a lost time incident.
Since the beginning of the year, Lamprell has been awarded a number of contracts for rig refurbishment projects, one of the group’s core competencies in which it has a well-established and proven track record. These include a contract for the repair and upgrade of the jackup rig, Rowan California, for Rowan Drilling, as well as a major upgrade of Gulf Drilling’s jackup rig Gulf 3. These refurbishment works will be carried out at Lamprell’s facilities in Sharjah
and Hamriyah.
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A bird’s eye view of the company’s yard |
The group will also be undertaking upgrade works on a land drilling rig for NDC, one of Lamprell’s key existing customers, and preparing a jackup rig for Seadrill Asia, the AOD 1, to comply with the end-client’s requirements, in anticipation of it operating offshore Saudi Arabia. Collectively, these rig refurbishment projects are valued at around $30 million.
STABILITY
Earlier this year, Lamprell announced that its trading position has remained stable. “The working capital situation continues to be healthy,” said John Kennedy, non-executive chairman, Lamprell.
“We continue to see stability returning to the business and to our operations, as we start to deliver on existing key projects and as steps that we have taken to re-establish financial and operational control over the business become effective. The group has started the year well, with notable positive progress made regarding some major projects and in the cashflow situation and this allows us to look forward with renewed confidence.
“We are particularly pleased to see further rig refurbishment projects being awarded to us by our existing customers, an area of traditional strength for Lamprell. As we have stated previously, Lamprell will continue to focus on core disciplines where it has a proven ability to deliver a high-quality product in a timely manner. This includes the rig refurbishment business, which has been a cornerstone for our business for many years and which will continue to be a high priority for us during this recovery year.”
Based in the UAE, Lamprell, with operations throughout the region, has played a prominent role in the development of the offshore industry in the Gulf for over 30 years and is the regional leader in the rig market.
It employs over 11,000 people across multiple facilities with its primary facilities located in Hamriyah, Sharjah and Jebel Ali, all of which are in the UAE. In addition, the group has facilities in Saudi Arabia (through a joint venture agreement) and Kuwait. Combined, the group’s facilities total over 925,000 sq m with 2.2 km of quayside.
