December 13 - Marine manufacturer Keppel FELS - a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited - has won a USD420 million contract to build two KFELS B Class jackup rigs for PEMEX Exploracion y Produccion, a subsidiary of Mexico's national oil company P

Scheduled for delivery in Q1 2015, the rigs are designed to operate in water depths of up to 122 m and drill to depths of 9,144 m. The two rigs will be the 19 and 20th KFELS B Class rigs on order at Keppel. 36 have already been delivered over the course of the last decade.

Mr Wong Kok Seng, managing director (offshore) of Keppel O&M and managing director of Keppel FELS, said: "The KFELS B Class design has been the rig of choice for drilling operators in meeting the higher specification needs of their customers. We look forward to delivering high quality rigs to PEMEX safely, on time and within budget."

With the oil and gas market growing in the region, Seng added that "we are seeing more enquiries from Mexico for new rigs and we believe our KFELS B Class jackup design is well suited to meet the requirements of the Mexican market."

A spokesperson for PEMEX - the world's fourth-largest crude oil producer - explained that the company expects to invest USD2.4 billion in exploration and plans to operate 40 rigs in Mexican waters.

"The KFELS B Class jackup rig, such as the Tonala and Ocean Scepter which are operating successfully in Mexico, has proven to be an efficient and high specification rig. The two new rigs will be an important addition to our fleet and improve our exploration and production capabilities," the spokesperson added.

www.pemex.com

www.keppelfels.com

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