Transocean Orders Third Jack-up Rig from Keppel FELS

Keppel FELS Limited has secured a repeat order from Transocean Offshore Deepwater Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd., valued at $195 million.

Following its order of two jack-up rigs from Keppel FELS on February 17, Transocean is exercising its option to build another high-specification jack-up rig based on the KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot design for delivery in 3Q2013. This rig is designed with larger spud cans, expanding its operational coverage to more places, especially areas where soft soil is predominant. Having larger spud cans enables the unit to operate efficiently while minimizing potential leg penetration problems in soft soil conditions.

With a 1.5 million-pound drilling system and a maximum combined cantilever load of 3,200 kips, the Super B Class Bigfoot features immense horsepower during drilling operations. In addition, the rig will be installed with offline stand building features in its drilling system package which allows drilling and the preparation of drill pipes to take place at the same time. The rig is capable of drilling at a 75 feet outreach, allowing for coverage of a larger well pattern.

Keppel FELS and Transocean have shared a long-standing partnership spanning several significant projects. In 2009, Keppel delivered Transocean's Development Driller III, an ultra-deepwater drilling semisubmersible rig built to Keppel's proprietary DSSTM 51 semisubmersible design. Other projects include upgrades and conversions of the Sedco 700-series semis to enable dynamic positioning, and the repair of various Transocean rigs.