Keppel to deliver semisubmersible to Caspian Drilling Co. in Azerbaijan

SINGAPORE -- Keppel Offshore & Marine, through its subsidiary in Azerbaijan, Caspian Shipyard Company (CSC), is on track to deliver a semisubmersible drilling rig to Caspian Drilling Company Ltd., a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

The rig was named Heydar Aliyev at a ceremony in Azerbaijan by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

Built to Keppel FELS' proprietary DSS 38M design, the rig has been customized for the Caspian Sea's harsh environment condition. It is the first modern semisubmersible to be almost completely built in Azerbaijan.

Chris Ong, acting CEO of Keppel O&M said, "The completion of this project adds to Keppel's strong track record of delivering customized value-added solutions to Azerbaijan. The DSS 38M design is a technologically advanced rig equipped with the latest safety and environmental features to operate efficiently in the Caspian Sea. We are proud that Keppel-designed rigs are a proven and preferred solution around the world.

"To meet the requirements of our customer, we were able to construct this rig almost completely in-country, a first for land-locked Azerbaijan, by leveraging the synergies of Keppel O&M's network of yards. With the trust and partnership we have developed over the years, we look forward to supporting Azerbaijan in the long-term growth of their oil and gas industry."

CSC undertook the fabrication, integration, testing and commissioning of the rig while its sister yard, Baku Shipyard (a joint-venture yard between Keppel and SOCAR), fabricated the pontoons. In Singapore, besides providing the engineering, procurement and technical support, Keppel FELS also fabricated the columns and bracings which were shipped to Baku through the narrow Volga Don canal.

Equipped with well control piping, BOP handling and foundations rated for 20,000 psi, the DSS 38M will be the first shallow water semisubmersible to have the capabilities to perform drilling in expanded areas of foperation in the oil fields of Azerbaijan.

It is able to work at a drilling depth of up to 40,000 ft and operations in 1000m water depth. Designed to be fully moored, the rig will be able to stay in position via an 8-point wire rope mooring system which is capable of self-contained mooring up to the full range of the water depths of the Caspian Sea.

Jointly developed and owned by Keppel's Deepwater Technology Group and GustoMSC, the DSS 38M design is an enhanced design of the successful DSS 38 rigs that are operating in Brazil.

CSC is the most established yard in the country and has a track record of completing rigs for the Caspian Sea, having delivered the first semisubmersible (the DSS 20 Maersk Explorer), the first jackup rig (Transocean's Trident 20 jackup rig) and the first ice-class Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel built in-country. These projects were done in collaboration with its sister yards in Singapore which fabricated modules that were then shipped through the narrow Volga Don Canal for completion at CSC.