Rig designer and builder Lamprell currently has seven units on order and in-build at its yard in Sharjah, UAE.
This follows a run of 19 jack-ups delivered since 2007, including several LeTourneau 116E and Friede & Goldman Super M2 jack-ups to international and regional drilling contractors.
The largest current order is for a batch of LeTourneau jack-ups for National Drilling Co (NDC), Abu Dhabi.
Two have been delivered; the next three are due for delivery next month, May and November, plus a fourth in January 2015. Two further units are on option.
Come November, a LeTourneau Super 116E will be delivered to Eurasia Drilling Co (EDC) and a second rig is under construction.
“Lamprell has successfully completed several of its recent key projects,” said CEO Jim Moffatt at a UAE briefing.
“We delivered the first Caspian Sea jack-up rig to EDC during the period, marking another significant milestone for the group.
“The group has also delivered the final set of modules to Nexen for use on the Golden Eagle project in the UK sector of the North Sea. These modules were completed on schedule and to a high specification.”
Moffatt said the company had also completed and delivered the Jindal Star jack-up rig, a LeTourneau Super 116E (enhanced) with a self-elevating design, to the Jindal Group for use offshore India.
“In August, we were awarded a new contract by Great Ships for the construction of a LeTourneau Super 116E jack-up,” said Moffatt.
“This is the second such rig for Great Ships. The first was delivered in January 2013.”
Lamprell and Cameron International (owners of the Le-Tourneau jack-ups design stable) are looking at upgrading the current Le-Tourneau class 116 design to a water depth capability of 400ft from the current 350ft.
Lamprell operates two yards in Sharjah, one in the Hamriyah Port Free Zone and the other in Port Khalid, where the company first began operations some 30 years ago in 1974.
The Hamriyah yard is the largest, having the capability of working on some 13 rigs alongside its quays.
There is also a facility in Jebel Ali, which is mainly suited to the building of production platform modules such as those being completed for Golden Eagle.
Ian Anderson, marketing manager for Lamprell, warned that 80% of the world’s jack-up rigs are 30 years old or more.
He claimed that none had been scrapped – the older ones often undergoing major refurbishment, moving to Iranian waters or being converted to accommodation units.
The current global jack-up population is about 480 of which 25% are currently based in the Middle East.
There are also another 120 rigs on order, though Anderson said he expects this collective book to more than double as a further 130 will be needed by 2020.
Lamprell has carried out over 350 rig refurbishment projects since operations began in 1974.
Currently undergoing extensive refurbishment at the Sharjah yard are three jack-up rigs belonging to Noble Drilling – Noble Gus Androes, Noble Roy Rhodes, and the Noble David Tinsley.
Last September, Lamprell was awarded a major rig conversion and refurbishment contract by Millennium Offshore Services group (MOS).
The contract relates to the conversion of the MOS Frontier, ex Transocean’s Trident 1V, to an accommodation rig with berths for 230.
This is the second such conversion project carried out by Lamprell for this rig owner.
During 2012, Lamprell suffered financial problems precipitated by contracts to build a pair of wind-installation vessels for Norway’s Fred Olsen and two rigs for EDC for operation in the Caspian Sea.
These problems have been well documented and led to a complete change in management at the company.
Both Fred Olsen vessels have been delivered and the second EDC unit is now almost complete.
Moffat added: “We are pleased with the progress that the Group has made since the half year.
“Our project execution has been solid and we have again proven our ability to deliver projects to a high build quality and with a strong safety record.
“Looking forward into 2014, the group will be delivering a number of major projects and will be focussed on managing these projects actively to achieve timely deliveries.
“In the meantime, we have won important new orders in our chosen markets and will continue to prioritise the conversion of our substantial pipeline into new orders.”
Meanwhile, Aibel’s DolWin Beta, the wind power structure currently being built at Drydocks World – Dubai (DDW-D), is now almost complete and due for delivery in June.
It is expected that the work carried out by DDW-D will be completed in March with ABB finishing the electrical work by June.
This project was originally to have been completed in Europe, but now the entire task will be carried out in Dubai.
The mooring turret for an LNG production vessel designed for Shell’s Prelude development offshore Western Australia is due for delivery in November.
The subsea storage tank for the Premier Oil-operated Solan oilfield development West of Shetland is due for delivery shortly (during Q1).
There is also a turret for SBM for final installation into a tanker currently being built in South Korea.
Last month, DDW-D signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Offshore Innovation Management, to build three AJ 62-X135 class multi-purpose (accommodation and construction) jack-up rigs.
The work starts this year, with the first rig expected to be delivered in 2016.
