(MENAFN - Qatar News Agency) Gulf Drilling International (GDI) announced today that they have placed an order for a Pacific Class 400 jack-up drilling rig with PPL Shipyard PTE LTD ("PPL") for delivery in March of 2013. This marks the 3rd new build jack-up rig that GDI has ordered in the last 12 months. The contract was signed by GDI Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim J.
Al-Othman and Deputy Chairman of PPL Shipyard Dr. Benety Chang. The rig will come with accommodation for 150 persons, have a 75' cantilever outreach and be able to operate in water depths of up to 400' and drilling to depths of 30,000 feet. On delivery, this jack-up will be the most technologically advanced drilling rig operating in Qatar. The total cost to place this rig into service is estimated at 250 Million.
The order with PPL marks one more segment of a US875 million 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.
GDI's CEO, Ibrahim J. 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%. GDI is therefore well on its way to becoming the premier provider of drilling rig and associated services in Qatar.
Dr Benety Chang, Deputy Chairman of PPL Shipyard said "We are pleased that Gulf Drilling International 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 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 customize turnkey solutions to suit our customers' unique project requirements. Our ability to deliver early and meet Gulf Drilling International s commitments was an added attraction for this particular rig contract.
We would like to thank Gulf Drilling International for their trust and confidence in PPL Shipyard and are committed to the timely delivery of this jack-up rig. On completion, the rig would proceed to work in Qatar."
