Jindal and Greatship favourites to win ONGC tender
Jindal Drilling and Greatship are front-runners to win ONGC contracts for two jack-ups needed from April 2009 in a tender that closed on August 19.
ONGC wants a Friede & Goldman rig and another rig that can drill in High Pressure/High Temperature (HP/HT) environments, with a 15,000-psi Blow Out Preventor stack. Contrary to expectations, the response was poor.
For the F&G category, Dubai-based Atlantic Oilfields Services bid â€کnew-build’ KS Endeavor, which is still under construction; Jindal bid Noble George McLeod. For the HP/HT category, Aban Singapore bid Deep Driller-5 or, alternatively Deep Driller-6; Greatship is offering Chetna, a Mercator rig.
Jindal is the clear frontrunner in the F&G category, because Atlantic’s rig is still under construction in Sharjah and not expected to be ready before December 2009 – eight months after ONGC’s mobilisation deadline of April 2009. “It is unusual that Atlantic bid at all,†comments a source.
“During the (June 19) pre-bid meeting Atlantic asked ONGC to extend the mobilisation deadline to December 2009 but ONGC said no.†Atlantic’s website says KS Endeavor will be ready in the third quarter of 2009 – clearly after ONGC’s mobilisation deadline.
In the HP/HT category, Aban’s Deep Driller-5 – capable of operating in water depths up to 350-feet – is now drilling offshore Vietnam and will be available after December 2008. Deep Driller-6, the second rig offered by Aban, is a â€کnew-build’ under construction in Singapore’s Keppel FELs yard, ready later this year, well in time for the April 2009 deadline set by ONGC.
Chetna is also a â€کnew-build’ and will be ready by March 31, 2009. Aban has a clear advantage in the HP/HT category because both its rigs will be ready earlier than Chetna.
But sadly for Aban it might lose because, although an Indian company, it bid through subsidiary Aban Singapore, which doesn’t benefit from the price preference privilege for Indian companies. “Greatship is an Indian company and can get price preference,†we hear.
“But Aban bid through Aban Singapore. Everybody was surprised Aban did not bid through an Indian company.
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