Keppel Offshore & Marine subsidiary Keppel FELS delivered a KFELS B Class jackup rig to Mexican national oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).
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The Kukulkan jackup. From Keppel. |
The Kukulkan jackup is the second jackup rig Keppel has built directly for Pemex. It will join sister rig, Yunuen, which was delivered earlier this year, and another nine jackup rigs that Pemex has chartered from drilling contractors for deployment in offshore Mexico.
Keppel also has another seven KFELS B Class jackup rigs currently under construction for Mexican companies.
The KFELS B Class jackup is designed to operate in water depths of up to 400ft and drill to depths of 30,000ft. Developed by Keppel’s Offshore Technology Development (OTD), the KFELS B Class jackup is equipped with an advanced and fully-automated high capacity rack and pinion jacking system, and self-positioning fixation system. It has accommodation with full amenities for 120 persons.
“We are glad to deliver the second consecutive rig to Pemex on time and on budget. In building two rigs almost simultaneously and having supported Pemex over the years with numerous projects, we have been able to anticipate their needs and improve efficiencies in the construction process,” says Chow Yew Yuen, Keppel O&M CEO. “Kukulkan will be the eighth KFELS B Class jackup rig to work in Mexico. The rigs have proven to be robust, efficient and economical, performing excellently for Pemex. We have another seven such rigs under construction for Mexico, making it the most dominant rig design and the jackup of choice for owners and operators in the region.”
“Pemex E&P is committed to grow as an E&P company by retaining both our existing reserves and exploring in a variety of new areas,” says Gustavo Hernández Garcia, Pemex E&P director general. “In shallow waters, there are a lot of prospective resources waiting to be discovered and we need high performance jackup rigs like Kukulkan to maximize our returns. Just two weeks ago, another rig, Yunuen, was put into operation by Mexican President, H.E. Enrique Pena Nieto. With Kukulkan soon to follow, we are strongly progressing towards our goal to increase oil production.”
Keppel’s partnership with Pemex was developed since 2004 when it was awarded a contract to build two accommodation modules for them. Besides building new jackup rigs for Mexico, Keppel has also repaired and serviced a total of 18 rigs that have been deployed by Pemex.
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