It sets a record for the most number of offshore rig deliveries by a company in a single year.
Keppel FELS Ltd (Keppel FELS) has delivered ARABDRILL 60, a KFELS B
Class jackup rig, to Arabian Drilling Company (ADC) five days ahead of
schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record. This marks the
21st new build offshore rig that Keppel FELS has delivered in 2013,
setting a new record for the most number of rig deliveries by a company
in a year.
The rig was named at a ceremony today in the presence of Mr Mohamed
Yousuf Rafie, Chairman, ADC's Board of Directors and Mr Lawrence Wong,
Singapore's Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior
Minister of State for Communications and Information as the Guests of
Honour.
Mr Mohamed Yousof Rafie, Chairman, Board of Directors, ADC said, "The
performance of our first new KFELS B Class rig, ARABDRILL 50, has fully
met our expectations and we are now pleased to receive ARABDRILL 60
which we are confident will be just as successful. Together, these two
high specification rigs enable us to offer Saudi Aramco productive, safe
and cost-efficient drilling operations. We have been impressed with the
commitment by Keppel FELS in delivering to high quality and safety
standards, while ensuring our requirements were met. This is a win-win
partnership we have built with Keppel that we hope to continue into the
future."
Mr Saad Saab, Managing Director (Administration), ADC, also thanked
Keppel FELS for delivering ARABDRILL 60 ahead of schedule and with an
excellent safety record. Mr Muhammad Umar Loan, Managing Director
(Technical), ADC, added that the project was completed well with some
variation orders to bring the rig in compliance with Saudi Aramco's
contract. While thanking Keppel FELS, Mr Muhammad Umar Loan also
congratulated DNV-GL and the ADC project management teams on completing
this project safely and ahead of schedule.
On how Keppel FELS managed to deliver 21 rigs in a year, Mr Wong Kok
Seng, Managing Director (Offshore), Keppel Offshore & Marine and
Managing Director, Keppel FELS said, "Building a KFELS B class jackup
rig involves coordination among multiple parties and over a thousand
workers.
This year, we had some 45 projects going on at the same time.
We streamlined the building process through new technology and equipment
as well as having an innovative construction methodology. All our
departments worked seamlessly together to set new benchmarks.
"Even though we had so many deliveries, every customer, such as ADC,
is important, and we worked closely with them to understand their needs.
We set out to deliver 20 and ended up delivering 21 rigs on time or
ahead of schedule and safely. Our previous record was 13 in 2009. That
is the Keppel standard. We always challenge ourselves to do better."
ARABDRILL 60 will be ADC's third jackup rig from Keppel FELS and has
been chartered to Saudi Arabia's national oil company, Saudi Aramco. The
first of the two new rigs, ARABDRILL 50, was delivered earlier this
year and is already working successfully for Saudi Aramco. ADC also owns
ARABDRILL 30, another KFELS B Class rig since 2009 and the rig is
operating for the Al-Khafji Joint Operations (AGOC/KGOC). A strong
supporter of Saudi Arabia's offshore drilling programme, Keppel FELS
also previously delivered SAR 202, a KFELS Super B Class jackup for
Saudi Aramco. Three other rigs, AOD I, AOD II and AOD III delivered to
Asia Offshore Drilling this year are also contracted to Saudi Aramco.
ARABDRILL 60 is the 51st KFELS B Class rig delivered since 2002, and
this class of rigs makes up more than 30% of the total jackups completed
globally since 2000. This award-winning design has a proven track
record of global operations, and has established itself as the benchmark
in the industry. In 2013 alone, a total of 15 KFELS B Class rigs were
delivered while another 18 were ordered.
Developed by Keppel's technology arms, Offshore Technology
Development (OTD) and Bennett Offshore, the KFELS B Class jackup design
is able to operate in water depths of up to 400 feet and drill to depths
of 30,000 feet which is readily upgradeable to higher performance
capabilities.
The robust rig incorporates Keppel's advanced and fully-automated
high capacity rack and pinion jacking system, and Self-Positioning
Fixation System. Designed with industry-leading features for safety and
environmental friendliness, the KFELS B Class provides maximum uptime
with reduced emissions and discharges.
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