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韩国、新加坡海工产能无闲置,10亿美金半潜平台订单落中国:中集或中远
Frigstad is believed to have awarded a letter of intent to a Chinese yard for the rig construction.
The two semisubs will be built at a cost of $580 million each with delivery expected about 36 months from the construction start date, sources said.
The final selected yard remained undisclosed but Upstream understands CIMC Raffles and Cosco Shipyard were among the Chinese rig builders invited to quote for the newbuild contract.
Frigstad is believed to have reached a decision to go with a Chinese yard, taking into consideration the delivery position and the overall project financing.
Yards in Singapore and South Korea are fast filling up on a sudden spurt in rig building activity since October 2010.
The number of rig building contracts awarded over the past eight months came as a surprise to even the most seasoned drilling contractors, with one industry source commenting the contracted volume could easily spread out over a two-year period.
Upstream understands that experienced offshore builders are mostly offering yard slots for delivery in 2014 and beyond.
That leaves Frigstad with limited options but to turn to China to meet its targeted delivery of around late 2013.
The drilling contractor is also said to be drawn to the more attractive financing terms offered by the Chinese yards.
As with most other drillships being built since last October, the two D90 semisubs are expected to be built on speculative basis.
Frigstad is known to be pursuing drilling contracts off Brazil, which the company’s chief executive Simen Eriksen has flagged up as the “more relevant market” for deep-water drillers.
The Singapore-based drilling contractor is managing the construction of the first D90 design rig, Scarabeo-9, for its new rig owner, Italy’s Saipem.
The semisub under final construction in Singapore is targeted for delivery in June.
Published: 20 May 2011 00:42 GMT | Last updated: 58 minutes ago |
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