Al-Othman and Dr Chang shake hands after signing a deal in Singapore yesterday
Doha-based Gulf Drilling International (GDI) has placed an order for the “most technologically advanced” drilling rig, which will cost about QR910mn when pressed into service in March 2013.
GDI placed the order for the Pacific Class 400 jack-up drilling rig with Singapore-based PPL Shipyard. With this, GDI has placed orders for three new jack-up rigs in the last one year.
The contract was signed by GDI Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim J al-Othman and PPL Shipyard Deputy Chairman Dr Benety Chang in Singapore yesterday.
The rig will have provision to accommodate up to 150 persons.
The order with PPL is yet another segment of a QR3.2bn ($875mn) business expansion plan that will result in GDI adding three new jack-up drilling rigs, two land rigs and two jack-up accommodation barges to its fleet over the next three years.
Al-Othman said: “We are pleased to be placing this order with PPL. We are most familiar with the PPL rig designs and consider them to be very suitable for the requirements of our clients here in Qatar. PPL is well-known as a high quality rig builder and we are pleased to have placed our first order with them. I look forward to adding another high-spec premium rig to our fleet and am confident that this rig will perform to our clients’ satisfaction.”
By 2014, GDI will have eight offshore rigs in service, with five being of the “ultra modern” cyber variety, and six land rigs.
Based on current rig counts, GDI’s share of the Qatar offshore market will exceed 50% while its share of the onshore fleet will remain at 100%.
Therefore, GDI said, it is well on the way to become the “premier provider of drilling rig and associated services” in Qatar.
Dr Chang said: “We are pleased that GDI has chosen our latest proprietary Pacific Class 400 series, a proven design that has been well-accepted by the industry. Since the launch of this Pacific Class 400 series, five such jack-ups have been ordered with one unit already delivered and operating in West Africa. Another rig will soon be delivered and is scheduled for deployment in Thailand.
“PPL Shipyard’s ownership of the Pacific Class 400 design gives us the flexibility of design control and the ability to customise turnkey solutions to suit our customers’ unique project requirements. Our ability to deliver early and meet GDI’s commitments was an added attraction for this particular rig contract.”