Keppel FELS: Record 21 rigs delivered in 2013
Keppel FELS delivered ARABDRILL 60, a KFELS B Class jackup, to Arabian Drilling Co (ADC) five days ahead of schedule in December, on budget and with zero incidents. The delivery marked the 21st offshore newbuild that Keppel delivered in 2013, setting a record for the most number of rig deliveries by a company in a year, according to Keppel. The company’s previous record was 13 in 2009.
“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,” Wong Kok Seng, managing director of Keppel FELS, said. “We set out to deliver 20 and ended up delivering 21 rigs on time or ahead of schedule and safely.”
“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,” Mohamed Yousof Rafie, chairman of ADC said. “Together, these two high-specification rigs enable us to offer Saudi Aramco productive, safe and cost-efficient drilling operations.”
Muhammad Umar Loan, managing director (technical) of ADC, added that the project was completed with some variations to bring the rig in compliance with Saudi Aramco’s contract.
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. In 2013, a total of 15 KFELS B Class rigs were delivered while 18 more 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 up to 400 ft and drill to depths of 30,000 ft and is readily upgradeable. The rig incorporates Keppel’s 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.
