Keppel beats pack to land US$1.1b job

FOR the doomsday pessimists, Keppel Corp's securing of a US$1.1 billion contract to build five high-specification KFELS Super B class jack-up rigs, plus options to build five more, for leading US rig owner Transocean Ltd is another reminder that Singapore shipyards remain the "go-to" offshore rig builders for established drillers.

Transocean picked the Singapore offshore rig builder from an international line-up of seven other shipyards which included China's Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, Dalian Shipbuilding, CIMC Raffles, Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Samsung Heavy, as well as Singapore's Jurong Shipyard and PPL Shipyard. Keppel's ability to accommodate a tight delivery schedule, as well as its execution track record helped to clinch the contracts, despite aggressive competition from the Chinese shipyards, according to market sources.

The first rig will be delivered in Q1 2016, and subsequent ones at intervals of four months with the last to be delivered in Q3-2017.