Keppel FELS hands over jack-up newbuild to Pemex

Keppel FELS, a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd, has delivered a KFELS B Class jack-up rig to Mexican national oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX).

The rig was named Kukulkan by Lady Sponsor Valerie Pahl-Hernandez, wife of Gustavo Hernandez Garcia, Director General of PEMEX Exploration & Production, at a ceremony at Keppel FELS.

Kukulkan is the second jack-up rig Keppel has built directly for PEMEX. It will join sister rig, Yunuen, which was delivered earlier this year, and another nine jack-up rigs that PEMEX has chartered from drilling contractors for deployment in offshore Mexico. Keppel also has another seven KFELS B Class jack-up rigs currently under construction for Mexican companies.

Chow Yew Yuen, CEO of Keppel O&M said, “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. We look forward to building upon our good working relationship through the construction of more offshore rigs, both in Singapore and Mexico.

“Kukulkan will be the eighth KFELS B Class jack-up 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 jack-up of choice for owners and operators in the region.”

The KFELS B Class jack-up is designed to operate in water depths of up to 400 feet and drill to depths of 30,000 feet. Developed by Keppel’s Offshore Technology Development (OTD), the KFELS B Class jack-up is equipped with an advanced and fully-automated high capacity rack and pinion jacking system, and Self-Positioning Fixation System, Keppel said in the press release. It has accommodation with full amenities for 120 persons.

Gustavo Hernández Garcia, Director General of Pemex E&P, said, “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. In shallow waters, there are a lot of prospective resources waiting to be discovered and we need high performance jack-up rigs like Kukulkan to maximise 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.

“We already have six rigs of the KFELS B Class design that have been working productively, safely and giving us a good return on investment. Keppel has repeatedly demonstrated their strong capabilities in delivering high quality rigs to our requirements and we look forward building on this win-win partnership as we grow our fleet of rigs.”