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Keppel FELS delivers new jackup to Arabian Drilling Co

Keppel FELS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M), has delivered ARABDRILL 70, a KFELS B Class jackup, to Arabian Drilling Company (ADC). Keppel FELS had previously delivered two jackups, ARABDRILL 50 and ARABDRILL 60, in June 2013 and December 2013, respectively. The jackups have since been operating successfully for ADC and their charterer, Saudi Aramco. ADC also acquired ARABDRILL 30 in 2009. In addition to these rigs, Keppel FELS built a KFELS Super B Class rig, SAR 202, directly for Saudi Aramco in 2012.

ARABDRILL 70 is the fourth KFELS B Class jackup rig to work for ADC. It was completed three days ahead of schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record.

“We build long-standing partnerships with our quality customers, which enable us to understand their needs and deliver projects that are well-received in the market, efficiently and safely each time,” Wong Kok Seng, Managing Director of Keppel O&M and Keppel FELS, said. “We are proud that our proprietary KFELS B Class design has served ADC well and remains in strong demand even in the current low oil price environment. This is our eighth delivery this year, and we continue to focus on executing our projects well, ensuring on-time and on-budget deliveries. Besides newbuild rigs, we are also actively engaged in repair and modification projects for our customers. By the end of this year, Keppel FELS would have completed 17 repair projects.”

Ali Hamid Al-Ghamdi, Managing Director (Administration) of ADC, added, “We are pleased to receive another high-quality rig from Keppel FELS, which will bring our offshore fleet to eight units, placing ADC in a favorable position to contribute to the growth of the oil industry in the region. The first three rigs have been performing exceptionally well, and we are confident that ARABDRILL 70 will perform just as well, if not better. The relationship between ADC and Keppel has been very successful, and we look forward to building on that success in the future.”

ARABDRILL 70 is the 61st KFELS B Class rig delivered since 2000. The KFELS B Class design has a market share of about a quarter of all jackup rigs delivered in the past 15 years. It has been employed by some 20 international drilling operators in more than 15 countries.

The KFELS B Class jackup design is able to operate in water depths of up to 400 ft and drill to depths of 30,000 ft. It incorporates Keppel’s advanced and fully automated high-capacity rack and pinion jacking system and self-positioning fixation system.

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