Gulf Drilling International Ltd QSC (GDI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS), has been awarded two new contracts by Qatar Petroleum (QP) for the provision of drilling rig services.
The new contracts will cover services to be performed by two new land rigs (GDI-7 and GDI-8) that GDI is in the process of acquiring from a rig builder based in the US. Each contract will have a term of five years and the combined value of both contracts is QR1.1bn.
The GDI-7 and GDI-8 are being custom-designed according to QP's specifications. GDI-8 will be GDI's largest land rig, and at 3000HP, it will have the capability of drilling deeper wells and executing extended reach wells to a much greater distance. The new land rigs will also come with a number of ancillary assets that are required to support these operations including water well rigs, mobile cranes, trucks and trailers. The total investment is being financed from a local bank on competitive terms.
Construction of the two new land rigs will soon commence and the rigs are expected to be received, mobilized from the US and placed into service during the second half of 2015. GDI's onshore base camp, workshop, storage yards, warehouses and accommodation facilities are also being expanded to accommodate these new operations.
Ibrahim J Al Othman (pictured), Chief Executive Officer of GDI, said: "GDI fully acknowledges and appreciates the value of the partnership that has developed with Qatar Petroleum. Working with QP has given GDI the chance to develop its skills, technologies and competencies which in turn has enabled GDI to become a world-class drilling service company. It has also given us the opportunity to provide our drilling services at regional competitive market rates."
GDI will soon commence the process of recruiting additional personnel and providing the necessary training, certification and orientations so that they can man these rigs and operate the ancillary equipment in a safe and efficient manner.
The Peninsula
12 June
