MIS on acquisition trail

UAE-based offshore rig building company, Maritime Industrial Services (MIS), is looking to boost its yard capacity through acquisition of land and existing smaller yards in the UAE, said a senior company official.

The high demand for offshore drilling rigs, spurred by the increasing global demand for oil, has led to shortage of yard space at the MIS yard in Sharjah, calling for aggressive expansion. MIS’s current order book for oilrigs is full until 2010 and the company is in the process of opening its order book for 2011. The shipbuilder has already finalised arrangements to acquire a few existing yards in Sharjah and Dubai as part of its effort to boost yard capacity and is on the lookout for additional shipyards. The main MIS yard in Sharjah measures about 200,000 m2 and the company has a smaller yard in Sharjah that is 30,000 m2, another one in Saudi Arabia spread over 90,000 m2 and a 15,000 m2 facility in Kuwait.

MIS is looking for a yard in Abu Dhabi and more yards in Dubai and Sharjah according to a spokesman from the company. New rig-building orders resulting from increasing drilling projects are fast helping to position MIS as well as the Middle East region as upcoming players in the global offshore rig building market.