Singaporean shipbuilder one year early with delivery of jack-up rig to Borr Drilling

Singapore’s Seatrium has delivered the fourth out of five jack-up rigs to UK-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling, a year ahead of the planned delivery date.

Completed and delivered on an accelerated schedule, the rig named Vali is of KFELS Super B Class, capable of operating in water depths of up to 400 feet and drilling to depths of up to 35,000 feet, as well as drilling deep wells both vertically and horizontally.

According to Seatrium, the rig’s cantilever structure is designed with a maximum combined load of 3,700 kips and is equipped with an advanced, fully-automated high-capacity rack and pinion jacking system, with the capacity to accommodate 150 persons with full amenities.

“We are pleased to announce the successful delivery of the jackup rig, Vali, to Borr Drilling, which marks another significant milestone in our partnership,” said William Gu, Executive Vice President of Seatrium Energy (International).

“With its state-of-the-art design and capabilities, Vali not only exemplifies our technical expertise but also enhances the efficiency and productivity of offshore drilling operations globally. We look forward to continuing our journey in delivering safe and high-quality solutions to our valued clients in the energy sector.”

To remind, Seatrium Limited emerged early in 2023 following the completion of the business combination of Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Offshore & Marine.

Vali is the fourth in a series of five rigs built at Seatrium’s Pioneer Yard in Singapore for Borr Drilling, with the first three novated to ADNOC Drilling and delivered.

The three rigs were initially part of a series of five that Keppel FELS was building for Borr Drilling, however, the companies delayed the deliveries first in June 2020 and then in January 2021, which resulted in the deferral of the rigs’ scheduled delivery to 2023. They were supposed to be delivered progressively with the first delivery in May 2023 and the final delivery in December 2023.

However, Keppel O&M entered into an amended agreement with Borr Drilling and certain of its subsidiaries in October 2022 to, among other things, accelerate the delivery of three jack-up rigs to Borr Drilling – or a third party to whom Borr Drilling intended to sell the rigs – between October 2022 and July 2023.

Since then, the construction contracts for the three rigs have been novated by Borr Drilling to ADNOC Drilling. The first of three was delivered to the UAE player in November 2022, with the second following in August 2023.