Oil and gas fabrication specialists Maritime Industrial Services (MIS) has recently launched its second offshore jack-up drilling rig for SeaWolf Oilfield Services.

The rig has been named SeaWolf Onome and is aimed at positioning MIS and the Middle East as a hub for new-build offshore jack-up rig. The first rig named the Oritsetimeyin and launched in January, was the first offshore jack-up drilling rig to be and built in the Middle East.
The Onome ( Hull 105) is a Friede and Goldman Super Mod 2 design with a  30,000-ft rated drilling depth and an operating water depth capability of 300 feet (92 m).
Both rigs, originally contracted to MIS by Norwegian Mosvold Jackup in 2006, are now being built for SeaWolf Oilfield Services Limited, a Nigerian drilling company, in a contract worth $254 million.
According to the company, the Oritsetimeyin and the Onome are on schedule with delivery dates of August and December 2008, respectively.
MIS says it is pleased at this achievement which further demonstrates its capabilities in the newbuild segment. According to Jerry Smith, managing director of MIS, the company today is well positioned to be the offshore jack-up rig yard of choice in the Middle East.
Peter Convery, president and CEO of MIS, says the region has witnessed an increased demand for production. MIS, which currently has a 200,000 sq m shipyard in Sharjah and has invested heavily in the local infrastructure, is benefiting from a capacity shortage in the traditional international shipyards of Singapore, China and the United States Gulf Coast.
“We expect demand to increase over the next five years and we are looking for opportunities to expand our yard facilities by seeking out ideal locations in the UAE. We see this as an investment in quality maritime services as well as an investment in the UAE, positioning it as one of the world’s best suppliers of oil, gas and petrochemical fabrication services,” Convery says.
The increased business for MIS in the offshore jack-up drilling rig market has seen the company expand to a 5,000-strong operation in the Middle East.
“In addition to growing the MIS business, the newbuild line of business serves two additional objectives: firstly creating world-class employment opportunities for professionals in this field, as well as creating an incremental source of business for the GCC oil and gas economy,” Convery adds.
Established in 1979, MIS offers an integrated scope of services to the oil and gas industry spanning the hydrocarbons delivery chain, from exploration drilling through to delivery to downstream customers.
It currently functions across several business segments: marine Cconstruction and rig newbuild; process and module fabrication; rig refurbishment EPC and offsite projects and technical and support services including the Sunbelt H2S safety services.
In the early 1980s, MIS successfully carved its niche in the local market for fabrication and the repair and maintenance of drilling rigs. In 1985, MIS acquired Sunbelt, a company specialised in H2S safety and protection services and later also added project management services to its portfolio of work. A year later, the company moved its facilities to its current yard in Port Khalid in Sharjah.
In the early 1990s MIS opened its Kuwait branch after the Gulf War and by the mid-1990s MIS was established as a major engineering, fabrication and oilfield services company in the Middle East.
In the early years of this millennium, MIS launched its Saudi Arabia operations through a company jointly operating with AYTB and the Shoaibi Group under the name MIS Arabia.
In 2006, MIS expanded its business line to include the construction of new offshore jack-up drilling rigs – a first for the Middle East region. Later in the year, MIS completed a private placement of $80 million following which it was listed on the Norwegian OTC market and in May 2007, MIS was officially listed and started trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the symbol MIS.
Today, MIS, which is certified for ISO9001:2000, API-2B and OHSAS18001:1999, is a major onshore and offshore contractor with almost 5,000 employees.