Heavy weight jackups have been added to the international drilling fleet this year and some have made use of Keppel FELS designs.

Now newer units are vying for the crown as the most durable harsh environment jackup.
This year, in early January, the Maersk Innovator was commissioned in Stavanger, Norway. Billed as a heavy-duty harsh environment rig capable of tackling even the northern North Sea, the Innovatorwas a 300 ft (91 m) water depth unit capable of drilling to 30,000 ft (9,150 m) and was built by Hyundai in Korea last year. During 2002, Rowan also weighed into the market with the Rowan Gorilla VII, equipped to work in up to 400 ft (122 m) of water, and now due to produce first oil as a permanent production facility for the Central North Sea Ardmore project. This year's GSF Constellation has maintained the trend for jackup water depth limits at 400 ft (122 m).

Another new jackup joined the international fleet after Keppel FELS completed another of its Mod V B designs - introduced by Keppel three years ago for harsh environments. The Atwood Beacon, designed for up to 400 ft (122 m) and a drilling depth of 30,000 ft (9,150 m) was built for Atwood Oceanics. It was delivered on May 24 of this year. Two previous Mod V B designs have been delivered by Keppel FELS for Ensco Drilling and two more are under construction.

Atwood's Beacon rig took 21 months to construct after the Singapore shipyard signed a deal in late July 2001 with Atwood to deliver the rig.

Designed for harsh environments other than the arctic and North Sea, the Atwood Beacon features a 70-ft (21-m) cantilever reach and 7500 kips operating variable load capacity, allowing the rig to operate on large, multi-well development platforms for extended reach directional and horizontal drilling programs.
Keppel Offshore and Marine has installed its own self positioning fixation system developed by Keppel's offshore technology department within its research and development division on the Atwood Beacon, to reduce rig up time once on location.

"We introduced the KFELS MOD V B class design three years ago to meet the demand for a cost-effective jackup rig that is able to withstand harsher environments," explained Tong Chong Heong managing director and chief operating officer, Keppel Offshore and Marine.

Evolved

Keppel has gradually evolved the Mod V design over 30 years of operating experience in the North Sea. Both the KFELs Mod V A and B classes were developed from the Mod V M class, originally intended for North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and South East Asia operations with hurricane and large wellbore drilling taken into account in the design. The A-rated unit is for up to 400 ft (122 m) water depth and the B class for 350 ft (106 m).

All of the Keppel Mod V B designs can feature any of the following:
• Cantilever or hull notch- supported conductor tensioning device;
• Drill floor and substructure skid-off capability;
• Two-piece cantilever for platform drilling as a tender unit; or
• Automated drill floor systems.

Ensco used the Keppel design for its Bigfoot series, the first of which was the Ensco 106. Ensco formed a joint venture with Keppel in March, paying US $26.25 million cash for a 25% stake in the new high-performance jackup design, to be built by Keppel. Ensco's 106 was said to be "capable of addressing more demanding applications on a global basis," Ensco's chairman and chief executive Carl Thorne said at the announcement of the JV. "As drilling requirements become more stringent and fleet renewal becomes imperative, we believe balance between capability and cost will be crucial." Ensco retains a 2-year option to buy the remaining 75% of the first Bigfoot, which will cost $106 million to complete.
Keppel's role in the international rig building sector was reinforced last month when it christened one of its latest units, a semisubmersible for Maersk Contractors, two weeks ahead of schedule. The Lider, built by the Caspian Shipyard Company (CSC) in Baku, a Keppel subsidiary, is due to work for Exxon Azerbaijan Operating Co and Chevron Overseas Petroleum Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea on a 3-year exploration drilling contract starting with a first well on Exxon's Zafar Mashal area.

Co-designed by Keppel FELS in Singapore and Marine Structure Consultants of The Netherlands, the rig is the first DSS 20 CAS M class to be constructed and it is equipped for drilling up to 3,300 ft (1006 m) of water with a drilling depth capability of 30,000 ft (9,140 m) and provides a variable deck loads of 4,000 tons with accommodation for 130 personnel. The Lider is specially designed for high-pressure formations expected at Zafar Mashal.

Keppel FELS and CSC won the contract for the new semisubmersible February 2001 after previously delivering another Mod V B jackup, the Gurtulush to Transocean for Caspian operations.
Further endorsement of Keppel's construction capability came with the more recent award of $96 million contract from BP Exploration for a new jackup for the Shah Deniz gas condensate project in the Caspian Sea.

Keppel will be building the platform and living quarters to Technip's TPG 500 self-elevating platform design, first used on the North Sea Elgin/Franklin project by Total. Keppel is to complete four drilling, production and quarters platform components by July 2004, for subsequent integration in Baku.
Recent worldwide rig newbuilds include 14 drillships, 14 semisubmersibles, 22 jackups between 1994-2003. Drilling units built within the last three years (2001- 2003) include drillships, semisubmersibles, jackups and tender rigs. Keppel has also developed a new way of building semisubmersible rigs - simultaneously rather than sequentially. Pontoon hulls have been built for two new US $285 million Global Santa Fe rigs, Development Driller 1 and II in dry docks at the Jurong Shipyard and the 14,000 tonnes topsides have been built nearby, and skidded 616 ft (188 meters) onto the pontoons. Both units are due for delivery in the first quarter 2004.