Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) has secured two contracts worth $110m from Gulf Drilling International.
Under the first contract, N-KOM will build a self-propelled and self-elevating liftboat for field transit operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in water depths of about 65m.
Scheduled to be completed at the end of 2015, the liftboat will provide accommodation and platform support services for a customer operating in Qatar.
The liftboat will be the fourth vessel in GDI’s fleet, which is designed to offer accommodation and platform support services.
The second contract requires N-KOM to repair and maintain GDI’s existing fleet of jackup rigs operating in the Middle East.
Qatar Minister of Energy and Industry Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Sada said: "Today marks an important milestone in the development of the State of Qatar’s offshore industry with the order for the first built-in-Qatar liftboat.
"It also highlights the impressive growth of our offshore industry and of the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard."
N-KOM chairman Abdullah Fadhalah Al Sulaiti said: "N-KOM has delivered a significant number of repairs for GDI’s offshore drilling fleet over the past three years and we have come to intimately understand their requirements.
"Having already established ourselves in the ship repair market, our next step is to capture the robust regional offshore market by leveraging on Nakilat and Keppel O&M’s expertise to provide quality and value-added offshore solutions."
N-KOM is a joint-venture (JV) shipyard between Nakilat and Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M).
Image: Contract signing ceremony. Photo: courtesy of Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd.
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