Singapore: Keppel Offshore & Marine, through its wholly owned subsidiary, FELS Offshore, has signed a management services agreement with Titan Petrochemicals Group and Titan Quanzhou Shipyard to manage the shipyard.
Under the agreement which is for a 30-year period, the yard will undertake projects using Keppel’s proprietary designs. The agreement is conditional on the completion of the on-going financial restructuring of Titan and the resumption of the trading of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Mr Chow Yew Yuen, CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine said, “The offshore oil and gas market in China has been growing significantly, and there is increasing demand for high specification rigs and production vessels. At the same time, China is a market which has strong preference for China-made products. Having this yard is an extension of our near market, near customer strategy and enables us to service the Chinese market with our suite of proprietary solutions while meeting its requirement of building in-country. This is further complemented by our other shipyard in China, Keppel Nantong, which undertakes specialised shipbuilding and offshore fabrication.”
Mr Zhao Xu Guang, Chairman of Titan added, “We are looking to enhance our presence in the offshore and marine business, and partnering Keppel, the world’s leading rig builder, is a significant step in this direction. I am confident that with Keppel managing this yard which has good development potential, we will be able to quickly build up the track record of the shipyard and deliver winning Keppel designs and products to Chinese oil and gas operators. Having studied the market, we believe there are a significant number of potential projects that this yard is capable of undertaking.” [10/04/14]
