In a sign of continued strengthening of the Middle East drilling market, ADES Saudi Ltd has inked five-year bareboat charters with Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) for two jack-up rigs for Saudi Arabia
These charters, signed through subsidiaries of Keppel O&M, will begin in H1 2023 and are valued at S$155M (US$113M). This brings the total number of rigs Keppel O&M has on charter with ADES to four. The contract includes modification works to prepare the rigs for deployment.
These are the fifth and sixth bareboat charters secured by Keppel O&M this year, pointing to the continued demand for more high-quality drilling rigs of Keppel’s proven KFELS B-class design.
The two rigs to be used for these charters are Cantarell III and Cantarell IV, which were under bareboat charters with subsidiaries of Grupo R2. These charters have since been terminated due to unremedied events of default under the bareboat charters by the charterers, said Keppel O&M. The rigs, which will be renamed ADM685 and ADM686, are currently in Mexico and will be transported to Saudi Arabia for modification works before commencing their charters for ADES.
Keppel O&M managing director (newbuilds) Tan Leong Peng said, the units “are equipped with our AssetCare digitalisation solution which increases the efficiency, safety and operability of the rigs.”
Added Mr Tan, “All of our KFELS B-class legacy jack-up rigs have secured bareboat charters or are on contract, which reflects the value our rigs bring to rig operators and increases their marketability for sale to potential buyers and investors. Utilisation rates across both the jack-up and floater segments have continued to trend upwards and we are confident our versatile and robust legacy rigs will be in demand across a variety of markets.”
