UAE-based Maritime Industrial Services Company (MIS) recently started work on its sixth newbuild jack-up rig Hull 109.
Hull 109 is one of the two offshore jack-up rigs contracted to the company last year in a $364-million contract by MENAdrill.
The rig is another Friede and Goldman (F&G) Super Mod 2 design with 30,000 ft rated drilling depth and an operating water depth capability of 300 ft, making it ideal for off-shore drilling in the Mena and South Asia drilling markets. Each rig is fitted with accommodation for 110 people.
The rig is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of next year while the second rig, Hull 110, is scheduled for delivery by the end of 2010.
The project is very significant for the company as it is MIS’ largest contract to date according to Jerry Smith, managing director of MIS.
Meanwhile the company recently achieved a Middle East first with the completion of a newly-designed offshore jack-up drilling rig. The SeaWolf Oritsetimeyin (Hull 104), is also a world first: this particular design is the world’s first Friede and Goldman Super Mod 2 ever to be built.
“The task has not been easy and completion was somewhat delayed due to the many challenges and stumbling blocks,” says Smith. “However, for a yard with no previous record in building new rigs, we consider this an exceptional feat – especially with a new design that has never been built before anywhere in the world. We are pleased to confirm that this steep learning curve and the experience gained on those two first rigs, is already delivering results with our third rig, the KS Endeavour (Hull 107) scheduled for delivery well ahead of its contract delivery date.”
Capitalising on the capacity shortage in traditional newbuild yards in Singapore, China and the US Gulf Coast, MIS entered the newbuild market two years ago, making it the first yard in the Middle East to offer this value stream. Today MIS has an order book of $1 billion and a total of seven rigs under construction at its yard in Sharjah. The most recent orders placed this year were by Mosvold Middle East Jackup for Hulls 106 and 108 and by Bahrain’s MENAdrill for Hulls 109 and 110. All five rigs under construction following the two Seawolf rigs are scheduled for delivery throughout 2009 and 2010.
MIS now joins the ranks of the world’s newbuild yards for major offshore jack-up drilling rigs, in line with the company’s strategy of managing a diverse and balanced business portfolio that combines newbuild with its core strengths in traditional business
“This represents full production for the next two years and we are confident in the future of the jack-up rig market which is showing continued long-term demand,” said Smith. “Although there is capacity across all rig segments, this will be tempered by ageing fleets due to be taken off-stream and by the day rates which still look strong. Our achievements in this market demonstrate that the Middle East is not just a source of oil wealth, it is also a source of oil and gas engineering and excellence.”