Gulf Drilling awards contracts to N-KOM shipyard

Gulf Drilling International (GDI) has awarded two contracts worth US$ 110 million to Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM), a joint venture shipyard between Nakilat and Keppel Offshore & Marine.

Liftboat contract

The first contract is for the construction of a self-propelled and self-elevating liftboat, which is customised for field transit operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in water depths of up to 65 m. When completed at the end of 2015, the liftboat will provide accommodation and platform support services for a customer with operations in Qatar.

Jack-up rig maintenance

N-KOM has also been awarded a six-year repair and maintenance contract for GDI's existing fleet of jack-up rigs operating in the Middle East.

The contracts were signed in the presence of H.E. Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry. Also in attendance was Mr Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Director of Oil & Gas Ventures, Qatar Petroleum. The contracts were signed by Mr Ibrahim J. Al-Othman, CEO of GDI, and Eng. Abdullah Fadhalah Al Sulaiti, Chairman of N-KOM.

Comments

The Minister of Energy and Industry commented: "Today marks an important milestone in the development of the State of Qatar's offshore industry with placing the order for the first built-in-Qatar liftboat. It also highlights the impressive growth of our offshore industry and of the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard."

Dr Al-Sada expressed confidence that the collaboration between GDI and N-KOM will help ensure the continued success of Qatar's Energy and Industry sectors for many years to come.

Chairman of N-KOM added: "N-KOM has delivered a significant number of repairs for GDI's offshore drilling fleet over the past three years and we have come to intimately understand their requirements. Having already established ourselves in the ship repair market, our next step is to capture the robust regional offshore market by leveraging Nakilat and Keppel O&M's expertise to provide quality and value-added offshore solutions. In this regard, we are committed to deliver a high-quality liftboat to GDI to support their offshore fleet."

GDI’s CEO commented: "GDI is pleased to sign this contract with N-KOM for the construction of their first liftboat. It will add to our growing fleet of quality rigs that N-KOM will also be maintaining for us. We look forward to receiving a best-in-class liftboat on the scheduled delivery date."

GDI vessel fleet

This will be the fourth vessel in GDI's fleet dedicated to providing accommodation and platform support services, which are complementary to GDI's core business of drilling.

Image: Keppel Offshore & Marine.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/24072014/gdi-awards-liftboat-and-jack-up-rig-contracts-to-n-kom-1121/