Keppel Offshore & Marine has partnered with the subsidiaries of Mexico oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) to build and operate a shipyard to support the offshore oil & gas industry in the country.
The facility will be located in the Port of Altamira along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Under the MoU signed in Singapore with PEMEX Exploracion y Produccion (PEP) and PMI Norteamérica, the partners will establish an investment vehicle to explore business opportunities in Mexico, with the first one being the yard.
In addition to servicing PEMEX in offshore and marine construction and service sector, the yard will cater to private operators.
The developers expect the facility to benefit from the growing demand from domestic and international oil & gas clientele operating in the region.
The yard will be built in phases at a total cost of $400m and is expected to create 4,000 new jobs.
The first phase, estimated to cost $150m, will be involved in the construction of six KFELS B class jackup drilling rigs, designed by Keppel for PEP.
Once completed, the facility will be open for repairs of deep-draft semisubmersibles and drillships, conversion of FPSO and Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) vessels, and fabrication of topside modules and other offshore structures.
PEMEX CEO Emilio Lozoya said, "Mexico’s proven reserves of oil and gas at the start of 2013 is almost 14 billion barrels of crude-oil equivalent and we believe that a significant number of shallow water and deepwater drilling rigs as well as FPSOs and FLNGs will be required to maximise production in the years to come."
Keppel O&M CEO Tong Chong Heong said, "This MOU reinforces Keppel O&M’s Near Market, Near Customer strategy and places us in a strong position to capture opportunities from the continued growth of the Gulf of Mexico.
Keppel O&M has opened a new shipyard in Baku, Azerbaijan, in September this year under a similar MoU with state-owned State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic and Azerbaijan Investment Company.
Image: The shipyard will be located in the Port of Altamira along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: Norman Kuring/ NASA Earth Observatory.
