Keppel FELS Delivers Two Jackups Ahead of Schedule

Keppel FELS, a subsidiary of Keppel O&M, revealed Monday that it has delivered two jackup rigs ahead of schedule, bagging it a combined bonus of $810,000 (SDG1.5 million).

Transocean Siam Driller was delivered 22 days ahead of schedule, while the second unit – AOD 1 – was delivered 29 days ahead of schedule. Both of the rigs were handed over to their respective owners at the end of January, a spokesperson with Keppel FELS confirmed.

Customized to meet Transocean's requirements, Siam Driller has been contracted to Chevron to work in offshore Thailand, while AOD 1 has been contracted to Saudi Aramco to work in offshore Saudi Arabia.

Siam Driller is built to the Super B Class Bigfoot design, but enhanced with larger spud cans so that it is suitable for drilling where soft soil is predominant. The rig is installed with offline stand building features in its drilling system package, which allows for simultaneous drilling and the preparation of drill pipes to take place. The Super B Class jackup is an enhanced version of the standard B Class; the former is able to drill to a depth of 35,000 feet.

AOD 1 is built to the standard B Class design. The jackup will be able to operate in water depths of 400 feet, drill to a depth of 30,000 feet and accommodate 150 people.

Meanwhile, Transocean has on order a second Super B Class jackup with Keppel FELS. The jackup, Transocean Andaman, is at present under construction and scheduled to be delivered in March this year.

Commenting on the company's performance, Keppel O&M’s Managing Director, Wong Kok Seng said in a statement: "With some 20 rigs to deliver in 2013, we are working hard to maintain our high standards of delivering on time, within budget and without incidents. Of the rigs to be delivered this year, 15 are built to our KELS B Class family of designs, four to our Super A Class design and one to our proprietary semisubmersible drilling tender design."