UAE contractor signs letter of intent for Saudi rigs

03 January 2019
Order to come from Saudi Arabia's International Maritime Industries

UAE-based offshore contractor Lamprell has announced it has been approached by Saudi Arabia’s International Maritime Industries (IMI) for a contract to build a pair of jack-up rigs, the first such order placed by the Saudi marine mega-complex.

Lamprell in a statement said it has signed a letter of intent with IMI for the two rigs, which are to be built for a client of IMI. It did not reveal the name of the customer.

Lamprell itself is a 20 per cent partner in the IMI joint venture (JV), in which Saudi Aramco holds the majority stake of 50.1 per cent, with the other shareholders being the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) holding 19.9 per cent and South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries owning 10 per cent.

The rigs covered by the contract will be built to Schedule G requirements for operation in Saudi waters, Lamprell said in its statement.

Most of the fabrication work for the rig newbuilds will be executed at Lamprell’s yard in Hamriyah, Sharjah, with IMI undertaking around 15 per cent of the work at its mega facility in Ras al-Khair in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

The new facility, due to be built in phases between 2019 and 2021, will have four zones for activities covering the maintenance, repair and overhaul of rigs and ships; the construction of offshore support vessels OSVs; the building of merchant vessels; and the fabrication of jack-up rigs.

The near 12 million square metre facility is planned to have an annual capacity to manufacture four offshore rigs and over 40 vessels, including three Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), and service over 260 maritime products.

London Stock Exchange-listed Lamprell is looking to strengthen its grip on the Saudi offshore and marine services market, by pursuing various business opportunities in the kingdom.

In June last year, Lamprell announced its Saudi shareholder Blofeld Investment Management has doubled its stake in the firm, from 5.1 per cent to 10.08 per cent.

Around the same time, Lamprell also announced it is forming a local JV in the kingdom, ‘Lamprell Saudi Arabia’, with another Jeddah-based investment firm, Asyad Holding.

Lamprell’s biggest business achievement in KSA came in November when its consortium with The Netherlands-based Royal Boskalis Westminster secured a place in Saudi Aramco’s coveted long-term agreement (LTA) pool of offshore contractors.

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.