Lamprell wins first firm newbuild rig order of 2015
Lamprell Plc. (“Lamprell”), has announced that National Drilling Company ("NDC"), Abu Dhabi, has exercised one of its existing options and awarded a contract to Lamprell for the construction and delivery of a high-specification jackup drilling rig. Lamprell has previously been awarded contracts by NDC for a series of eight rigs and this will be the ninth rig constructed of the same design. The LeTourneau-designed, Super 116E (Enhanced) Class mobile offshore drilling unit will be constructed at Lamprell's facility in Hamriyah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a planned delivery in Q2 2017. As previously announced, NDC has further options for Lamprell to build up to an additional two jackup rigs of the same design, which have been extended to 3Q 2015. James Moffat, Chief Executive Officer, Lamprell, said: "I am delighted to be able to announce this new award from NDC, thereby extending our on-going relationship with our largest client by way of a ninth new build jackup rig in the series. This is particularly pleasing given the backdrop of a challenging market environment. We are proud of the continuing confidence that NDC has shown in our track record for delivering high quality work competitively and to schedule and this consistent focus on client satisfaction is one of Lamprell's key strengths. We take this opportunity to thank NDC for this further business. The award of this newbuild is also the first newbuild rig order placed thus far in 2015 and follows the news that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (“Adnoc”) is looking to boost its offshore production through the spending of over USD25 billion over the next 25 years. Adnoc is also looking to increase its drilling plans and potentially contract more offshore rigs in order to meet this demand.