Keppel bags two-rig contract from Transocean worth US$380 million

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) has secured a contract worth approximately US$380 million from Transocean Offshore Deepwater Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd. (Transocean), to build two high-specification jackup rigs based on the KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot design. The rigs' deliveries are scheduled from 2H 2012 onwards.


As part of the agreement, Transocean has options to order three additional jackup units.

Mr Tong Chong Heong, Chief Executive Officer of Keppel Offshore & Marine, said, "We are seeing encouraging demand in the jackup segment, particularly for high-specification rigs that can address tough climatic and field conditions, while meeting stringent safety standards.

"This is an area where Keppel FELS enjoys a strong competitive advantage, given our experience with harsh environment rigs, and proprietary jackup designs that have proven operational and safety track records globally.

"The new edition KFELS Super B Class Big Foot design was customised to suit Transocean's requirements. Working with trendsetting customers provides us with channels of input and feedback to improve our technology, as we bring to market a wider range of robust and viable solutions."

The KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot is designed with larger spud cans, expanding its operational coverage in more places, especially areas where soft soil is predominant. Having larger spud cans limits the extent of soil penetration by the rig's legs, thus enabling the unit to operate efficiently while minimising potential leg extraction problems in soft soil conditions.

A 1.5 million pound drilling system and maximum combined cantilever load of 3,200 kips fuel the Super B Class Bigfoot with great horsepower during drilling operations. In addition, the rig will be installed with offline stand building features in its drilling system package, which allows drilling and the preparation of drill pipes to take place concurrently.

The above contract is not expected to have material impact on the net tangible assets or earnings per share of Keppel Corporation Limited for the current financial year.