Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) is on track to deliver West Vencedor, the sixth of seven KFELS semisubmersible drilling tenders (SSDT) to Seadrill Limited (Seadrill) before the end of 2009. The completion of this project on time and within budget, will top out a record year of 13 rig deliveries for Keppel FELS.

West Vencedor is built to Keppel’s proven KFELS SSDT 3600E design which was conferred the ASEAN outstanding engineering achievement award in December 2009 for its eco-friendly features and sustainable operations.

The vessel was named at Keppel FELS by Lady Sponsor, Mrs Maria Luisa Breisacher-Moshiri, spouse of Mr Alireza Moshiri, President, Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company.

West Vencedor is expected to commence development drilling operations offshore Angola under a five-year contract with Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, in the first quarter of 2010.

Mr Alf Ragnar Løvdal, Senior Vice President of Tender Rigs Division of Seadrill, said, “Through Seadrill’s 15-year partnership with Keppel, we have launched the successful KFELS SSDT Series of drilling tenders and established a solid operational track record in the market.

“We are very pleased with the progress of our latest unit, West Vencedor. We are confident that she would continue to build on our track record and advance the global acceptance of our drilling tender solution.”

The first of Seadrill’s KFELS SSDT fleet, West Pelaut, was designed and built by Keppel FELS in 1994, and was conferred the highly coveted Shell Platform Rig of the Year award in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

In recent years, this trend setting drilling tender has gained momentum in international markets, and is suitable for worldwide deployment in a variety of challenging offshore environments including the deepwater ‘Golden Triangle’ region.

Mr Wong Kok Seng, Executive Director of Keppel FELS, said, “The KFELS SSDT has proven its resilience and suitability to operate in a variety of challenging environments worldwide. In addition to Southeast Asia, this unique drilling tender has also been deployed by Seadrill further and deeper in the waters of West Africa.

“Our win-win alliance with Seadrill has contributed to them becoming world’s leading drilling contractor in the tender assist segment. It has also effectively positioned Keppel as the leader and pioneer in the design and construction of deepwater semisubmersible drilling tenders.

“We are privileged to partner our trendsetting customer, Seadrill and look forward to continue supporting them in their fleet expansion programme.”

Developed by Keppel’s Deepwater Technology Group, the KFELS SSDT is an outstanding application of engineering and technological advancement, contributing significantly to environmental protection, as well as the safety of operators involved in offshore platform development drilling.

The purpose-built KFELS SSDT has revolutionalised the way in which drilling tenders operate, allowing them to be deployed next to deepwater floating platforms for the first time.

With this technology breakthrough, the KFELS SSDT became the first drilling tender in the world to operate in deep waters of about 1,000 metres in the West Seno field, offshore Indonesia in 2003, and to be deployed against a Spar platform in the Kikeh Deepwater Field, offshore Malaysia in 2008.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Group has constructed four Seadrill’s world-class jackups. Construction of the seventh SSDT and two jackups at Keppel FELS remains on schedule with expected deliveries extending from from 2Q2010 into 2Q2011. When completed, Keppel-built rigs will make up 35% of Seadrill’s premium fleet.

Tags: Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited