China: COSCO Dalian Shipyard Snaps Up EPC Contract Worth $500 Million to Build DP3 Deepwater Drillship

COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited  announced that COSCO Dalian Shipyard Co., Ltd. (“COSCO Dalian”), one of the subsidiaries of the Company’s 51% owned subsidiary, COSCO Shipyard Group Co., Ltd., has today secured a turn-key EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract worth more than USD500 million with Dalian Deepwater Development Ltd to build an advanced and versatile DP3 deepwater drillship.

This unique vessel, with a hull size of 291m by 50m, is designed to drill wells in international oilfields with high efficiency and safety in harsh environments and at ultradeep water depths up to 10,000ft (3,050 m) and drilling depths exceeding 30,000 ft (9,150 m).

The vessel will have a separate production moon-pool and its variable deck-load capacity, deck space and cargo storage capacity will be the highest of any drillship ever built. The drillship will be upgradeable for enhanced well intervention capabilities, extended well testing and early field production with 1 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity.

The hull of the vessel and certain equipment thereon were originally built and installed by COSCO Dalian as part of a floating, production, drilling, storage and off-loading (FPDSO) unit for MPF Corp. Ltd which had sought bankruptcy protection in 2008. Pursuant to the insolvency proceedings that followed, a sale of MPF Corp Ltd’s assets was conducted and the said hull and equipment were acquired by COSCO Dalian pursuant to such sale.

The contract with Dalian Deepwater Development Ltd became effective on 20th July 2010 and the vessel is expected to be delivered to the buyer in the third quarter of 2012.

[mappress]

Source: cosco-shipyard,July 22, 2010