Opus Offshore
Simple is BestWriter: Matthew StaffProject Manager: Arron RamplingOpus Offshore is on the brink of a major industry breakthrough as its four drill ships gear up for an inevitable rise in the oil & gas market over the next 18 months.Its four benchmark new-builds have been a signal of intent for the Company since its inception in 2011, with its Tiger 1 rig ready to enter the market this June and Tiger 2 having the finishing touches put to it in the dock also.Given the difficulties and challenges currently engulfing the oil sector at present, Opus is currently playing the same waiting game as many other market players in terms of attaining contracts for the new-builds, but the Company’s Vice President of Operations, Peter Burnett, is confident that once Tiger 1 is picked up and operational, a snowball effect will occur for future rig uptake to fall into place.“When we began building the ships the oil prices were very good and if they had remained as they were, we’d have had them contracted without any problems, but these slumps are very cyclic, and will come around again.“It has also played into our hands strangely because we have been able to build these a lot cheaper in China than we would have been able to in Korea or Singapore, so when the market does pick up, our operating and capital costs are lower too.“We’re ahead of the game in having four rigs ready, so all we need to do is get a contract for Tiger 1, show the…
Opus Offshore
Rig for success Opus Offshore Pte Ltd are building a new class of drilling rig that is already winning tenders worldwide Writers Matt Bone Project Manager Arron Rampling Opus Offshore was formed in early 2011 as a result of Vern Westerhout and David Smallwood's desire to build modern mid-water drill ships to service the substantial market in mid-deep water. A strategic alliance was formed with Shanghai Shipyard to jointly develop the design, finalise costing and agree construction schedules. Opus Offshore provided the equipment specifications. In September of 2011, contracts were signed for the construction of two vessels along with options for two more. The company is headquartered in Singapore and has a large project office within the Shanghai Shipyard complex. Both offices employ a multinational staff, all with many years of experience in the off shore drilling construction and operations business. Eastern Build, Western design Peter Burnett, Operations Manager of Opus Offshore, has seen the company grow substantially since its beginning in 2011. "The company is built on a solid foundation of vastly experienced managers who have worked in the industry for many years, but because we are currently building our vessels in China, there is a degree of wariness from the international drilling community about standards of manufacturing and processes being applied during production. For us, this is just a hurdle that we can quickly overcome and we will prove just how reliable these vessels will be." The Tiger Class vessels currently under construction will have a high specification 8 point mooring system and not…
