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Qatar’s Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) shipyard has picked up a number of lucrative contracts in recent weeks, demonstrating its ability to provide local companies with a viable alternative to oversee suppliers.
Gulf Drilling International (GDI) Limited, a subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS), the largest oilfield service company in Qatar, has awarded two contracts worth US$110 million. The first contract is for the construction of a self-propelled and self-elevating liftboat, customised for field transit operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, in water depths of up to 65 meters. When completed at the end of 2015, the liftboat will provide accommodation and platform support services for a customer with operations in Qatar.
This will be the fourth vessel in GDI’s fleet that is dedicated to providing accommodation and platform support services. Other vessels in GDI’s fleet include the liftboat Rumailah, the accommodation jack-up Zikreet and another liftboat that GDI is managing through a charter.
Designed by Bennett Offshore, the naval architecture and marine engineering arm of Keppel O&M, in collaboration with N-KOM, the new LB310- design liftboat will be able to undertake a wide range of operations, including well servicing, commissioning and the maintenance and decommissioning of offshore platforms, and will be equipped with two deck cranes, a large open deck space of around 800 m2 and a helideck. There will be accommodation space for 130 persons and a feature of the design will be a gangway bridge to link the vessel to the offshore platform for emergency escape and other safety purposes.
In addition to the liftboat contract, N-KOM has also been awarded a six-year repair and maintenance contract for GDI’s existing fleet of jack-up rigs operating in the Middle East. The yard has delivered a significant number of repairs for GDI’s offshore drilling fleet over the past three years and as a result has gained a clear understanding of the company’s requirements.
In a further boost to the yard’s fortunes, N-KOM has secured a contract worth US$ 19 million to design and construct a floating jetty for Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC). Scheduled for completion in early 2015, the jetty will be situated in Ras Laffan Industrial City and will primarily be used for the handling of aggregates. Once it is operational, the jetty – QPMC’s second in Qatar – will have an annual handling capacity of 7.8 million tonnes.
Established in 2007, N-KOM is a joint venture between Qatar’s premier gas shipper Nakilat and leading offshore rig constructor and ship repairer Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. From its location within the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard complex, N-KOM offers a comprehensive range of repair, conversion, maintenance and fabrication services for marine vessels, offshore and onshore structures.
