Speech by Mr Tong Chong Heong, CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine at the Naming Ceremony of Gold Star on 29 August 2009 at Keppel FELS
Guest-of-Honour, Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew,
Acting Minister for Information, Communications & The Arts;
His Excellency, Paulo Alberto de Silveira Soares,
Ambassador of Brazil to Singapore;
Our gracious Lady Sponsor, Mrs Fiona Steane;
Mr Christopher Steane,
Global Head of Structured Finance, ING Bank;
Mr Antonio Augusto de Queiroz Galvão,
General Director of Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás (QGOG);
Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel Corporation,
Mr Choo Chiau Beng, CEO of Keppel Corporation,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning and a warm welcome.
The close collaboration between QGOG and Keppel FELS has culminated in the birth of a stellar product.Gold Star is the world’s first DSSTM 38deepwater semi, and has already been contracted by Petrobras to work in offshore Brazil.
Gold Star will enter Brazilian deep waters at very exciting times for the nation. Brazil is today one of the mostsignificant markets in the world, with its huge hydrocarbon reserves and the national goal of energy self-sufficiency. Over the years, Keppel Offshore & Marine has worked on several important projects for Brazil, consistently delivering high quality products, be it in the newbuilding of Floating Production Units or FPSO conversions market. We are committed to being the partner of choice and provider of solutions to our Brazilian customers. This is a promise we will continue to uphold.
As the market moves towards E&P in deeper waters and harsher environments,we strive to continue to meet the evolving operational needs of our customers. We harness innovation, our vast construction experience, and strong feedback from our customers to modify and improve on our rig designs.
Currently, Keppel Offshore & Marine is the only shipyard group in the world to have its own suite of proprietary deepwater semi designs which rank among the most technically advanced rigs in the world. The DSSTM Series of deepwater rig designs, which are jointly developed and owned by Keppel’s Deepwater Technology Group and Marine Structure Consultants, already enjoy growing affirmation and acceptance from leading global operators. Including Gold Star, we have completed five of seven DSSTM rigs ordered by the market.
In particular, Gold Star, which belongs to the DSSTM 38design, is engineered to meet the operational requirements in the deepwater "Golden Triangle" region, comprising Brazil, Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. This region is expected to account for three-quarters of global deepwater expenditure over the next five years.
My greatest thanks go to QGOG,for entrusting Keppel FELS with the order of the first DSSTM 38 semi in 2006; and for reiterating your confidence in us with a repeat order in 2008. Antonio, once again, thank you. We admire your thought leadership and market foresight;and it has been Keppel's privilege to assist QGOG in the expansion of its rig fleet. We are confident that Gold Star, like our other DSSTM Series rigs, will perform to your highest satisfaction.
On this note, I would like to thank the project teams led by Rodrigo Ribeiro of QGOG and B.H. Woo of Keppel FELS, ABS classification and all our subcontractors and suppliers for their outstanding contributions to Gold Star.
Importantly, I would like express our gratitude to Minister Lui, for taking time out of his busy schedule to grace this occasion as our Guest-of-Honour.
Finally, special thanks to our gracious Lady Sponsor, Mrs Fiona Steane, for being the rig's Godmother. With your blessings, I am sure that Gold Star will bring good tidings to her crew, QGOG and Petrobras.
Thank you.
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