Kuala Lumpur, 26 June 2012 – UMW Holdings Berhad announced that UMW Drilling 4 (L) Ltd. (UMW D4), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UMW Petropipe (L) Ltd, which in turn, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UMW, signed a Sale and Purchase agreement today with SD Drilling Pte. Ltd., to acquire a ‘jack-up drilling rig’ for a total consideration of USD214 million. UMW D4 also has an option to acquire another ‘jack-up drilling rig’ currently being built by the same company. The acquisition of this new drilling rig is part of UMW’s plans to further develop its drilling operations. The rig, currently under construction, is being built by a reputable and established rig builder, and is of high design specifications to enable operations in more challenging environments. Completion and delivery is expected early next year.
The UMW Group currently has a fleet of three offshore drilling-rigs. NAGA 1, a semi-submersible drilling rig, is co-owned with Japan Drilling Co. Ltd. The Group also owns and operates two premium jack-up drilling rigs, NAGA 2 and NAGA 3. NAGA 1 and NAGA 3 are contracted out to Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. for operations in Malaysia, while NAGA 2 is in operations in lndonesia for HESS (Indonesia-Pangkah) Limited.
“This acquisition signifies another important milestone in the development of our drilling business. The addition of this new rig will enable UMW to further expand our business and extend our services to address the growing needs of the industry”, said Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, President & Group CEO, UMW Holdings Berhad. He also said that there is a significant resource requirement for drilling rigs in the region due to aggressive exploration and development activities in the oil & gas sector. Currently there is already a shortage of drilling rigs, particularly jack-up rigs.
“I believe our new jack-up rig, which will be ready by early next year, will help to reduce some of this shortage, and in the long run, contribute toward ensuring that oil and gas companies have the support they need in their exploration and development activities”, said Datuk Syed Hisham.
UMW Oil & Gas Division is at present developing special training programmes for its drilling personnel to ensure that they have a continuous supply of capable and skilled personnel to operate its expanding fleet of drilling rigs.
In line with the aspirations of the Malaysian government and PETRONAS, UMW is giving priority to developing more Malaysians to manage and operate its drilling business. “We are proud to say that our existing rigs are operated mainly by Malaysians. At present, a number of Malaysians are in final stages of training to assume positions in management and operations of the new rig when it is delivered next ye”€?, added Datuk Syed Hisham.
“We would like to thank PETRONAS, Petronas Carigali, and HESS (Indonesia-Pangkah) Limited for their trust in us and in giving UMW the opportunity to service them with our drilling rigs. This has provided us the platform to further develop our operational capabilities and expand our business operations”, said Datuk Syed Hisham.
