BG awards offshore India engineering work

BG Exploration and Production India Ltd. has issued Singapore-based Swiber Holdings Ltd. a US$127 million letter of intent for engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning work at various facilities in the Arabian Sea offshore western India.

The contract marks Swiber's entry into the Indian offshore engineering market. Work is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2009. This contract is the second largest EPCIC contract to date for Swiber. The largest contract at US$146.6 million was awarded to Swiber by Brunei Shell Petroleum Company in February 2006 for EPCIC work in Brunei. BG previously awarded to Swiber its first offshore marine support charter contract in India worth US$5.75 million. Swiber, through its joint venture, Swiwar Offshore Pte Ltd., also has won a succession of charter contracts with BG India in 2006 and 2007 worth US$42 million.

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Steelcast to enter shipbuilding arena

Indian steel producer Steelcast Limited has purchased a plot of land in Gujarat in order to set up a shipyard dock near Bhavnagar coastline.

This would be a new addition to the company’s portfolio which currently includes the manufacture carbon steel, low alloy steel, high alloy steel, hadfield manganese steel, etc. Chetan Tamboli, Steelcast md said, "We have earmarked Rs100 crore ($24.6) for the Greenfield project and acquired about 130,000sq mtr of land in the creeks of Bhavnagar." He added that Steelcast intends to form a new company to manage the yard and will raise the funds needed for the project through a mix of equity, debt and private placements.
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Ensco enters $372m contract

Offshore drilling contractor Ensco International has entered into a letter of intent for the Ensco 8503, an ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig currently under construction.

The contract, with an unnamed company, will be for a two-year, $372 million term at a rate of of $510,000 per day. Ensco 8503 is the company’s fourth ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig and will increase the company’s deepwater fleet to five rigs. Four 8500 series rigs are under construction at the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore. Deliveries are expected in the third quarter of 2008 for Ensco 8500, the first quarter of 2009 for Ensco 8501, late in the fourth quarter of 2009 for Ensco 8502, and in the third quarter of 2010 for Ensco 8503. All of the Ensco 8500 series rigs are now committed to customers for term work to begin upon delivery. The Ensco 8500 series ultra-deepwater semisubmersibles are enhanced versions of Ensco 7500. Enhancements include a two million pound quad derrick, offline pipe handling capability, increased drilling capacity, greater variable deck load, and improved automatic station keeping ability. The rigs will be capable of drilling in up to 8500 feet of water, and can be upgraded to 10,000 feet water-depth capability.

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S Korea's STX shipbuilding eyes sales of US$3.2 bllion in 2008

STX Shipbuilding is targeting 3 trillion won (US$3.17 billion) in sales this year, compared with last year's 2.13 trillion.

In a regulatory filing, the shipbuilder said it expects its operating income to reach 200 billion won this year, compared with 94.8 billion won last year. In 2007, STX Shipbuilding saw its net profit more than quadruple as it built more high-priced ships to carry chemical products and others.

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