Oil and Gas drilling specialists Lamprell has announced that it has successfully completed construction of the second Caspian Sea jackup drilling rig, the “Mercury”.
The “Mercury” is the second vessel that Lamprell has built for this client. Delivery of this rig will take place in the coming month and the rig is then expected to commence operations on its first contract elsewhere in the Caspian Sea alongside its sister vessel, the “Neptune” rig, which was delivered in November 2013. A number of key operational improvements, learnt from this first rig project, were successfully implemented onto the “Mercury” project allowing Lamprell to complete as planned.
The rig has been built under extremely challenging conditions and represents a significant milestone for the company. Timely completion of this project enables the company to release contingencies held in connection with this project which will have a significant positive impact on the 2014 financial results.
“I am delighted to report that we have completed the second drilling rig for use in the Caspian Sea, not only because of the significant beneficial impact on this year’s results but also because of the exemplary safety record on a highly complex project in a remote location. As a result of the close teamwork between the Lamprell and client teams, the project achieved nearly 4 million man hours without a day away from work which is a world class achievement. Our strong operational performance both in the UAE and Astrakhan allowed us to take advantage of the milder recent weather and complete construction activities on the rig ahead of schedule. We would like to thank the client for entrusting us with this important project and we hope to work with them again in the future,” said Jim Moffat, CEO of Lamprell.
