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SBI Offshore is in discussions with an unknown Middle Eastern-Chinese consortium to build up to five jack-up rigs.
In a statement, SBI said that the consortium – which recently awarded SBI a contract worth $24mn to provide design and engineering services for a jack-up – is made up of a number of parties involved in oil and gas activities.
SBI said that if talks are successful, it expects to build the first rig in a regional shipyard, possibly China or Singapore.
Each rig will require at least two years to build and all the rigs are expected to be completed in about six years.
The rigs are likely to be deployed in the Middle East and various parts of Asia, in water depths of up to 110m, SBI added in a statement.
“SBI Offshore has entered a new phase of growth,” said Chan Lai Thong, executive chairman of SBI Offshore.
“We are hopeful of a successful outcome in our negotiations for the rigs and intend to secure more of such higher value projects in the future.”
