Lamprell, a leading provider of fabrication, engineering and contracting services to the onshore and offshore energy industry, has completed the construction of the jackup drilling rig, the “Shuwehat” and delivered it to the Abu Dhabi’s National Drilling Company (NDC) as per schedule.

This follows the company's announcement last month of new contract awards from NDC for the construction of two further jackup drilling rigs of a similar design and high specification, which is valued at approximately $365 million, said a statement from Lamprell.

The contract for the “Shuwehat” rig was signed in April 2012 and this is the fifth in a series of eight rigs with the LeTourneau Super 116E (Enhanced) Class design which are being built and delivered by Lamprell to NDC.

The latest rig was delivered to the client following the completion of the third and fourth rigs, the “Qarnin” and the “Marawwah” respectively, earlier this year.

Lamprell has achieved another company record with the delivery of three drilling units to one client in a single year, it added.

The “Shuwehat” rig is the 11th Super 116E jackup drilling unit that the group has delivered to various clients during the last six years, said the company in a statement.

The jackup rig was officially named, and completion marked, at a ceremony held at Lamprell’s Hamriyah facility in the UAE earlier today, prior to departure for operations at its drilling location in Abu Dhabi.

NDC chief executive Abdalla Saeed Al Suwaidi said: "Today, we proudly witness the completion of rig Shuwehat, a true technological marvel. This rig represents a great addition to the NDC fleet of modern rigs, and it will help the company maintain the highest levels of reliability and efficiency."

"A few years back, we partnered with Lamprell to start building offshore jack up rigs in the UAE. We are proud that we made such a strategic decision, and the four previous rigs, namely Makasib, Muhaiyimat, Qarnin, and Marawwah are working safely and drilling for Adma-Opco," he stated.

Commenting on the delivery, Lamprell CEO Jim Moffat said the project execution this year continues to be of the highest standards.

"We have been able to prove once again our ability to complete a major project to world-class standards of safety and quality, and we are proud to construct this latest project in the UAE, for use in the UAE, where we have such strong ties," he stated.

"The “Shuwehat” rig is the third rig handed over to NDC in 2014 and we are scheduled to deliver the next NDC rig to the client within a matter of months," noted Moffat.

"We believe that the recent contract award of two rigs with three options by NDC demonstrates our client’s continuing confidence in our ability to maintain our strong project execution track record on a consistent basis and we look forward to working closely with NDC in the coming years," he added-TradeArabia News Service