Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) has won $110m worth of newbuilding and repair contracts from Gulf Drilling International (GDI).

N-KOM is to build its first self-propelled and self-elevating liftboat customised for operations in the Middle East and North Africa regions. The liftboat is due to be delivered to GDI at the end of 2015.

“Today marks an important milestone in the development of the State of Qatar’s offshore industry with placing the order for the first built-in-Qatar liftboat,” said HE Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Sada, Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry

GDI also signed a six-year maintenance and repair deal for its jack-up rig fleet operating in the Middle East.

“Having already established ourselves in the ship repair market, our next step is to capture the robust regional offshore market by leveraging on Nakilat and Keppel O&M’s expertise to provide quality and value-added offshore solutions. In this regard, we are committed to deliver a high-quality liftboat to GDI to support their offshore fleet,” said Abdullah Fadhalah Al Sulaiti, chairman of N-KOM.

The liftboat is a LB310 design by Bennett Offshore, a naval architecture and marine engineering arm of Keppel O&M, in collaboration with N-KOM.

Published in Asia, Middle East & Africa, Shipbuilding & Shipyards, Offshore