Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited announced on July 17th that Asia Offshore Drilling Limited (AOD), an associate company, has taken delivery of its third new‐build jack‐up rig, ʹ AOD III ʹ , from Singapore ‐ based builder Keppel FELS Ltd. (Keppel FELS).
The Company founded AOD in 2010 and currently holds a 33.76% stake in the venture. Seadrill is AOD’s manager and owns 66.23% of its shares.
ʹ AOD III ʹ will now be mobilised to the Middle East to begin its three ‐ year contract with the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Saudi Aramco”). ʹ AOD III ʹ and the two previously delivered rigs, ʹ AOD I ʹ and ʹ AOD II ʹ , have drilling contracts with Saudi Aramco which have been entered into and managed by Seadrill Limited on behalf of AOD, for an initial period of three years plus a one ‐ year option.
“Mermaid made a visionary move when it founded AOD in 2010, anticipating an upturn in the oil and gas sector, ” said Mr. Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the Company .
“In getting this timing right, AOD has taken delivery of its assets in the midst of a bull market for oil exploration, allowing us to take advantage of some of the strongest day rates in recent history.”
[mappress] Press Release, July 18, 2013