Singapore's Keppel O&M to Manage Titan Quanzhou Shipyard

The shipyard will have four ultra-large and wide dry docks

Singapore-based Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) says it will manage Titan Quanzhou Shipyard, one of the largest in China, under a 30-year agreement.

Keppel O&M, through its wholly owned subsidiary, FELS Offshore, signed the deal with Titan Petrochemicals Group (Titan) and Titan Quanzhou Shipyard Co. Ltd.

The shipyard has been the subject of court proceedings as Titan has worked toward a financial restructuring deal, and the management agreement is conditional on completion of that restructuring and the resumption of trading of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

"The offshore oil and gas market in China has been growing significantly, and there is increasing demand for high specification rigs and production vessels," said Chow Yew Yuen, CEO of Kepple O&M.

"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."

The shipyard, located in Fujian Province, occupies a 3,600-meter length of coastline and, when completed, will have four ultra-large and wide dry docks and will be capable of building offshore rigs and converting double-hull vessels such as floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units.

Titan Chairman Zhao Xu Guang said Keppel's status as the world's leading rig builder will help the shipyard's offshore and marine business.

"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,' he said.

"Having studied the market, we believe there are a significant number of potential projects that this yard is capable of undertaking."