Rigco Holding Pte Ltd (RigCo), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Ltd. (Keppel), and Seatrium Limited (Seatrium) are pleased to announce that both parties will collaborate on the completion of construction work in respect of four offshore rigs owned by RigCo, under an existing master services arrangement between the parties. These rigs comprise a premium seventh-generation drillship, a harsh environment jackup, and two mid-water semisubmersibles suited to work in the harshest environments of Northwest Europe.
The total estimated contract value for the construction of all four rigs is over S$500 million and will be funded by existing cash retained in RigCo. The drillship and the harsh environment jackup are expected to be delivered to RigCo in 2027 and 2028 respectively, positioning them for charters and supporting monetisation through the Keppel Offshore Fund, while construction plans for the remaining two rigs are being assessed.
Following more than a decade of limited newbuild activity and the progressive retirement of older rigs, offshore rig market fundamentals are improving, underpinned by higher utilisation rates, an ageing global drilling fleet and structural supply constraints. Together with the heightened need for energy security, the resumption of rig construction is expected to create value for both RigCo and Seatrium.
Ms Cindy Lim, Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure of Keppel and Non-Executive Director of RigCo, said, “The demand for deepwater and harsh environment rigs is expected to increase over the next several years, providing conducive conditions for new, long-term charters of premium rigs. RigCo has been working closely with customers on their requirements amid the tightening market for advanced offshore rigs.
“The resumption of construction work marks an important milestone in Keppel’s strategy to transform RigCo’s work-in-progress offshore rigs into high-quality, income-generating assets. Their phased completion is part of Keppel’s programme, announced in July 2026, to progressively monetise up to 10 legacy rigs through the Keppel Offshore Fund, managed by Keppel, and co-invested with Apollo as Limited Partner. We are pleased to work with Seatrium, leveraging their world-class engineering and construction capabilities, to complete and deliver these rigs with high specification, on time, within budget, and safely.”
Mr William Gu, Executive Vice President of Seatrium Energy (Marketing), said, “Seatrium has a long and distinguished global track record for the full lifecycle of high specification offshore rigs from design to build, upgrades, life extension and operational optimisation. Today, more than two-thirds of the world’s operational jackup rigs are based on Seatrium’s designs, including one of the units for RigCo. This award reflects our undisputed 1 capabilities to deliver complex projects safely, efficiently and to the highest quality standards. We look forward to leveraging our integrated capabilities and execution excellence to support RigCo in realising the full potential of these premium assets.”