A contract worth more than $350 million that offshore support vessel company Topaz Energy and Marine has won from a Kazakhstan party will substantially boost its backlog and strengthen its earnings visibility and credit strength.

The contract was won in a consortium led by Blue Water Shipping. The deal brings Topaz’s backlog to $1.6 billion. 

Topaz will supply and operate 15 module carrying vessels (MCVs) for the Tengizchevroil (TCO) joint venture in the former Soviet republic. Under contract terms, it will commission the construction of the vessels which have been designed in collaboration with Vard Shipyard Group as the designated shipyard, and crafted to navigate shallow river systems as they transport modules and cargoes through the Russian waterways to the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan. The 123-m-long vessels will be built in three Vard yards in Romania and Vietnam. 

The vessels will commence work in Q2 2018 for a minimum contract period of three years.

René Kofod-Olsen, chief executive officer, Topaz Energy and Marine, said the award reinforced the company’s reputation as a trusted offshore logistics partner to oil majors globally. “With our proven track-record of reliable and safe operations which spans decades in the Caspian region, Topaz continues to capture value in this complex offshore market,” he remarked.

This is the second large contract awarded to Topaz this year, following the contract to supply 14 offshore support vessels to BP in Azerbaijan as announced in March. 

Topaz operates a fleet of 100 offshore support vessels and is a subsidiary of Renaissance Services SAOG, a publicly traded company on the Muscat Securities Market, Oman.