Keppel secures GlobalSantaFe semi

Keppel FELS has secured a contract with GlobalSantaFe Corporation (GSF) to build an ultra-deepwater drilling rig for $270 million.

Under the contract agreement, GSF will supply the drilling and sub-sea equipment while Keppel FELS provides the design, engineering and construction of the hull as well as the accommodation quarters for 180 men and marine equipment.

The rig, to be named the ?GSF Development Driller III?, is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2009. GSF has chosen to build the state-of-the-art semi-submersible to

the proprietary design, DSS-51, jointly designed and developed by Keppel?s Deepwater Technology Group (DTG) and Marine Structure Consultants (MSC).

Accordingly to ODS-Petrodata?s 12-monthly rolling forecast between February 2006 and January 2007, the demand for semisubmersibles is expected to rise from 141 to 167 units while the marketed supply remains inelastic from 152 to 153. Even as utilisation levels approach full capacity, global demand for the mobile offshore drilling units shows no

sign of slowing down.

The DSS-51 rig is maintenance-friendly with excellent safety features well suited for both exploration and development drilling as well as workover operations. With a dynamically positioned system (DPS 2), it can drill wells down to 10,000 m and operate in water depths of up to 3,048 m in environments such as offshore Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and South East Asia.