RigCo Taps Seatrium to Complete Four Unfinished Offshore Rigs

RigCo, Keppel's rig-owning subsidiary, has hired Singapore-based Seatrium to complete four offshore units that had been left unfinished. The deal is worth more than S$500 million, equivalent to US$390 million according to Splash 247, or US$391 million according to Trade News and Baird Maritime.

The contract covers a seventh-generation drillship named Can Do, a harsh-environment jackup rig called Jasper, and two mid-water semisubmersibles, Nordic Winter and Nordic Spring, designed to operate in the most demanding conditions of Northwest Europe. The Can Do drillship is scheduled for delivery in 2027, while the Jasper jackup is expected to arrive in 2028. Construction plans for the two semisubmersibles are still being evaluated.

RigCo will fund the construction program with its own cash reserves, and the work falls under an existing master services agreement between the two Singapore-based companies. The deal is part of Keppel's S$3.7 billion program announced in July to monetize up to ten legacy offshore rigs through a fund managed by the group with backing from investment manager Apollo.

Under that program, six operational jackups were earmarked for transfer to the fund for approximately S$1.2 billion (US$938 million), while the four unfinished rigs could be added once completed. Keppel estimates that transferring these four additional units could generate close to S$1.3 billion (about US$1 billion) in cash proceeds. Cindy Lim, Keppel's Infrastructure CEO, noted that demand for deepwater and harsh-environment rigs is expected to rise in the coming years, which would offer favorable conditions for new long-term contracts.

Keppel retained these rigs as legacy assets after combining its offshore and marine business with Sembcorp Marine to form Seatrium in 2023. RigCo has already delivered and leased six jackups to clients since 2022, and according to Baird Maritime, Keppel took full ownership of the holding company for the legacy rigs in 2024.