COSCO delivers 'SKD T-18' tender rig

COSCO (Nantong) Shipyard ("COSCO") has announced the successful delivery of the 'SKD T-18' tender drilling rig. The rig will be delivered to SapuraKencana Drilling Ptd Ltd, after the company purchased it from Seadrill Ltd in April 2013. The unit will now be mobilised to Thailand where it will begin drilling operations for Chevron on a five year contract that was awarded in May 2012.

SapuraKencana announce new tender rig contracts

SaupraKencana Drilling (SKD) has announced a number of new contracts that have been awarded to some of its tender drilling units. The company’s ‘SKD Berani’ semi-tender rig has been awarded a new contract by Total E&P Congo, to perform workover and development drilling work in the Republic of Congo. The contract is for a firm one year period and is valued at US$108 million. Meanwhile SKD has also been awarded three contract extensions for the ‘SKD Pelaut’, ‘SKD Setia’ and ‘SKD T-12’ tender rigs from their existing contractors. All three contract extensions are for a firm period of two years.

Seadrill cuts stake in joint venture

Seadrill Limited ("Seadrill") has sold 230 million shares of SapuraKencana raising approximately US$300 million in proceeds. The total economic gain realized from this sale is approximately US$165 million. Following the completion of this transaction Seadrill will continue to own approximately 490 million shares, representing an approximate 8% ownership stake in SapuraKencana. Tor Olav Trøim will continue to serve as a board member of SapuraKencana with John Fredriksen as an alternate director. On April 30, 2013 Seadrill increased its ownership stake in SapuraKencana to 12% as a result of the integration of its tender rig business into SapuraKencana. The target was to develop a strong leading player in the Far East integrated service market. Since completion of this transaction, SapuraKencana has made significant progress integrating the two businesses and taking delivery of an additional 3 tender rigs under construction at the time of the transaction. This progress has partly been reflected in the positive share price development. Seadrill remains a long-term strategic investor in SapuraKencana and, in connection with the sale, has entered into a lock up agreement for its remaining shares until the end of 2014. Seadrill will continue to support SapuraKencana's strategy of growing its broad offshore service portfolio. SapuraKencana has strengthened its position in the Asian market and has significant international growth opportunities. SapuraKencana's position as an integrated service provider and upstream leaseholder creates a competitive advantage in the region. Having acquired Seadrill's tender rig assets, SapuraKencana is in an ideal position to serve field developments on a global basis as well. John Fredriksen, Chairman, President and Director of Seadrill says in a comment, "We are very pleased with the progress to date of our partnership with SapuraKencana, both in the integration of the tender rig business and in the development of our successful PLSV joint venture in Brazil. We are today working together on several new businesses with the target of creating new growth opportunities supported by long term contracts. Our support for one of our closest partners is unwavering and we look forward to many years of future cooperation."

Keppel divests entire stake in ultra deepwater tender rig

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), will divest its entire 72% interest in the rig, West Berani, to SeaDrill Asia Limited (SeaDrill Asia) for approximately US$72 million. This divestment follows the completion of the semisubmersible drilling tender (SSDT), which was delivered on time today. In May 2005, Keppel FELS entered into an agreement with SeaDrill Asia, formerly Smedvig Asia, to own and operate the SSDT on a 72/28 basis respectively. SeaDrill Asia had the option to exercise Keppel FELS’ interest in the rig upon completion. This is the fifth deepwater tender drilling rig that Keppel has built for SeaDrill Asia since 1994. The first of the series, West Pelaut, was the world’s primary purpose-built SSDT for tender-assisted drilling.

Keppel FELS delivers 7th KFELS SSDT to Seadrill ahead of schedule

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) has delivered its seventh KFELS semisubmersible drilling tender (SSDT), West Jaya, to Seadrill Limited (Seadrill). Completed two weeks ahead of schedule, the vessel was delivered with a perfect safety record and within budget. West Jaya is built to Keppel's proven KFELS SSDT 3600E design which was conferred the ASEAN outstanding engineering achievement award in December 2009 for its eco-friendly features and sustainable operations. Seadrill are in negotiation with BP Trinidad & Tobago LLC for West Jaya to work in the Immortelle field for two years.

SapuraKencana announces raft of new tender rig contracts

SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad (SapuraKencana) has announced that a number of wholly-owned drilling subsidiaries have been awarded new or extended contracts in South East Asia. The ‘SKD T-9’ and ‘SKD T-10’ units were both awarded new contracts with Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, to perform development drilling in Malaysia. The ‘SKD T-9’ is contracted for a five year period with the option to extend for a further two years. The ‘SKD T-10’ has been contracted for a firm three year period, with options to extend for a further two years also. The ‘SKD T-9’ and ‘SKD T-10’ contracts are effective from June 2014 to July 2019 and August 2014 to July 2017 respectively. The newly delivered ‘SKD T-18’ began its five year contract with Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production Limited in June 2014, with the contract running until May 2019. Meanwhile SapuraKencana also announced a contract extension for the ‘SKD Jaya’ unit working for BP in Trinidad. BP has extended the contract for the ‘SKD Jaya’ from August 2014 to July 2015. The four contracts are valued at a total of USD700 million by SapuraKencana.

Update on Contract for the Provision of Tender Assist Drilling Rig "SKD T-20"

Reference is made to the Company’s previous announcement, dated 15 May 2014, for SapuraKencana Drilling Holdings Ltd’s Tender Assist Drilling Rig SKD T-20 (“SKD T-20”) offshore Côte d'Ivoire. The contract is now expected to be completed in June of 2016, adding to the original contract term. Additionally, there is the option to extend the contract by 5 additional wells, which if exercised, will keep the SKD T-20 on contract to the final quarter of 2016.

Contract for SKD Esperanza

SapuraKencana Drilling Tioman Sdn. Bhd. has been awarded a contract from Sarawak Shell Berhad (“SSB”)/ Sabah Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd (“SSPC”) for the provision of its Semi Tender Assist Drilling Rig “SKD Esperanza”. The contract is for the nominal term of 18 months with options to extend for up to a further 18 months.

Award of Contract for Semi-Submersible Tender Assist Drilling Rig SKD Berani by JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (Malaysia) Limited

SapuraKencana Drilling Tioman Sdn. Bhd. has been awarded a contract by JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (Malaysia) Limited (“JX Nippon”) for the provision of Semi-submersible Tender Assist Drilling Rig, SKD Berani. The contract is for JX Nippon’s development drilling campaign offshore Malaysia which comprises of three firm wells of approximately total duration of 150 days as minimum; and two option wells if exercised. The contract is expected to commence by July 2016.