Sembcorp secures first drillship order for Brazil

But management admits that the $792.5m-worth of drillship contract won’t have any material impact for FY2012.

Sembcorp Marine’s wholly-owned Brazilian shipyard Estaleiro owned Jurong Aracruz has secured a contract worth approximately US$792.5 million from Guarapari Drilling BV, Netherlands, a subsidiary of Sete Brasil Participacões S.A. (Sete Brasil), for the design and construction of a drillship based on Jurong Shipyard’s proprietary Jurong Espadon Shipyard’s drillship design.

The Jurong Espadon drillship represents the next generation of high specification drillships with high-specification advanced capabilities for operational efficiency and ultra deepwater operations worldwide. The ultra-deepwater drillship will be equipped with state state-of-the-art drilling facilities, a larger deck area with a 40-art 40 meter-wide main deck, efficient deck arrangement and a large moon pool for enhanced drilling wide operations as well as DP-3 (Dynamic Positioning class 3) capabilities, superior m3motion features and Azimuth thrusters for improved operability. It is capable of operating at 10,000 ft water depth and drilling to depths of 40,000 ft, with accommodation facilities to house a crew of 180 personnel.

Scheduled for delivery no later than 2Q 2015, the ultra-deepwater drillship will be among a deepwater series of drillships to be built in Brazil to cater to the recent oil and gas discoveries in the offshore giant pre-salt fields.

Mr Wong Weng Sun, President and CEO of Sembcorp Marine said “This is a ve significant very milestone as this order not only represents the first drillship that our group is building for Brazil but it is also the first project secured by our new shipyard in Aracruz. The fact that Sete Brasil has chosen our design is a testament of the drillship’s high-specification capabilities and specification innovative design as compared to its peers. We believe this order will be the first of many orders in Sete Brasil’s ambitious drillship expansion programme to develop the giant Brazilian pre pre-salt oil fields.”

According to press release, barring unforeseen circumstances, Sembcorp Marine expects a positive contribution to its earnings from the contract. However, the contract is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share of Sembcorp Marine for the year ending December 31, 2012, it says.