Malaysia’s UMW expands rig fleet with Keppel jack-up

Malaysia’s UMW Oil & Gas Corporation Berhad (UMW-OG), has taken delivery of a new jack-up drilling rig, from Singapore’s Keppel Fels.

According to Keppel, the rig construction was finished 32 days before schedule. This is the third KFELS B Class jack-up rig that Keppel FELS has delivered to UMWOG.

The first jack-up – UMW Naga 4 – was delivered in February 2013 and is currently servicing the contract of Petronas Carigali in Malaysia, while the second – UMW Naga 5 – was delivered in April 2014 and is currently working in Vietnam.

At a delivery ceremony held at the yard recently, Chris Ong, Deputy Managing Director of Keppel FELS, said, “The safe and early completion of a third rig for UMWOG bears testimony to the win-win partnership between our companies. We are glad to be able to support UMW-OG, having built three jack-up rigs to our proprietary KFELS B Class design.

“This design is the industry choice for robust, efficient and economical performance and it has helped our customers to secure charters even in the current low oil price environment. All the KFELS B Class rigs we have delivered around the world this year are gainfully employed and performing well, and we are confident that UMW Naga 8 will be a valuable asset to UMW-OG.”

The rig is capable of operating in water depths of up to 400ft and drilling depth of 30,000 ft.