Offshore contractor Gulf Marine Services (GMS) has been awarded the first contract award for self-elevating support vessel (SESV) GMS Shamal by a national oil company in the MENA region
The mid-size SESV, which is the first-of-its-kind in the world, was being built at GMS’ quayside facility in Abu Dhabi and is on schedule to be completed in Q2 2015. It would then proceed directly to its first charter for the company.
The contract was for five years, two years firm with three one-year options.
According to the offsore contractor, the SESV was being adapted to suit the client’s specific needs as a specialised well intervention unit.
The modifications included the supply and installation of pumping equipment and gas lines, the enlargement of the onboard brine capacity and the optimisation of the crane configuration. In common with other SESVs in the GMS fleet, the vessel was capable of high deck loads and has been fitted with a multi-move, robust jacking system combined with DP II manoeuvring to ensure rapid, frequent and safe movement between offshore wellheads.
Duncan Anderson, CEO of GMS, said, “The signing of this first charter well ahead of GMS Shamal’s build completion demonstrates the continued high demand for our vessels and highlights the value of our cost-effective solutions as our core, opex-focused oil and gas clients seek to extract maximum value from their offshore assets, which is increasingly relevant in the current oil price environment.
“A key factor in our client’s decision to charter GMS Shamal was our ability, through our integrated engineering and construction process, to make modifications during the build process without these affecting the price or delivery schedule. Through collaboration with our client, we have developed an SESV that will ensure optimum efficiency and minimum non-productive time during our client’s operations, while maintaining the flexible multi-role design as part of our core strategy for high utilisation.”
The group’s entire fleet of SESVs has been chartered, supporting brownfield oil and gas recovery, well services and maintenance work in the MENA region and in Northwest Europe.
