OREANDA-NEWS. Sembcorp Marine is pleased to announce that its subsidiary PPL Shipyard has secured a USD 240 million contract to build a new jack-up drilling rig from BOT Lease Co., Ltd ("BOTL"), a leasing company of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ which is under the umbrella of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The contract value may be higher on additional specification requirements to be negotiated among the parties involved.

Scheduled for delivery at the end of October 2016, the new rig (to be named Hakuryu 14) will be built based on PPL Shipyard's established proprietary Pacific Class 400 (PC 400) design. This latest generation of high-specification jack-up rigs is capable of operating in deeper waters of 400 feet and drilling high pressure and high temperature wells to depths of 35,000 feet. The rig design features two million pounds hook load and the latest drilling equipment for improved drilling efficiencies along with offline handling features and simultaneous operations support. It will have accommodation for 150 persons with full catering and amenities.

This will be the second jack-up rig that PPL Shipyard is building for BOTL, with Japan Drilling Co., Ltd (JDC) once again being the project coordinator as well as providing the project management team during the rig construction phase. The first unit, named Hakuryu 12, is presently under construction with contractual delivery at end January 2015. PPL Shipyard also built the Hakuryu 10, a PPL Shipyard proprietary Pacific Class 375 series, for JDC - that unit was delivered in June 2008 and is currently chartered to Total E&P Indonesia.

Mr Yuichiro Ichikawa, President and Representative Director of JDC, said, "Over the years, we have entrusted several of our newbuilding projects to PPL Shipyard and they have proven to be a worthy partner. Hakuryu 10, a Pacific Class 375 unit from PPL, was delivered safely and on-time, and has been working well in the field. Hakuryu 12, a Pacific Class 400 unit, will soon be delivered by PPL. The purchase of a further unit of the Pacific Class 400 rig will enable us to meet the strong demand from our customers for premium class jack up rigs and strengthen our position as a leading offshore drilling contractor. We look forward to receiving another outstanding drilling unit that fits our exacting requirements."

Mr Wong Teck Cheong, Managing Director of PPL Shipyard said: "We are honoured that BOT Lease Co., Ltd in collaboration with Japan Drilling Co., Ltd have once again chosen our latest proprietary Pacific Class 400 series jack up rig design to be customized to their requirements. This is an endorsement of our design and our ability to deliver the rig safely, on time and within budget. Our proprietary ownership of the Pacific Class design offers us the flexibility to provide custom-design turnkey solutions to meet the unique requirements of our clients and the field operators."

"Since the launch of this Pacific Class 400 series, eighteen such jack-ups have been ordered with nine units delivered and operating in West Africa, Gulf of Thailand, South East Asia, Qatar and the Middle East. This clearly shows the PC400 is a proven design well accepted by the industry. This jack-up rig order reflects the owner's confidence in the premium jack-up rig market and in PPL Shipyard's design capabilities, efficient project execution, and track record for quality and timely deliveries."

The contract is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share of Sembcorp Marine for the year ending December 31, 2014.