Kencana Petroleum sees stronger marine business

LUMUT: Kencana Petroleum Bhd expects its marine engineering business, which includes rig fabrication, vessel operation and charter activities to contribute 20% to group turnover by 2011, executive chairman Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir said.
Other works in the segment include refurbishment and conversion of rigs and it is also expected to carry out drilling works and repair and maintenance in the near future.
Contribution from the marine side in the long term would hopefully also come from the charter of the tender-assisted drilling rig, Mokhzani said.
“That will stabilise our income,” he told reporters after handing over the Maari wellhead platform it co-built to OMV New Zealand Ltd.
The Kencana Mermaid1 tender-assisted rig is being built by the group's unit Kencana HL.
Mokhzani said to beef up the marine business, the group would source for support vessels over the longer term.
“We are looking at other small vessels like tug boats to assist in marine operations, costing around US$10mil,” he said.
He said the group had identified a few clients for the chartering of the rig.
“We need to get clients to ensure it goes to work as soon as it leaves here. We have identified a few clients but have not inked anything yet,” he said.
Kencana Petroleum is also ready to kick up its drilling works, but that would “come hand in hand with the tender rig which rolls out end of next year,” he said.
Going forward, he said the group planned to grow its business by entering smart partnerships as it was difficult to find assets and expert manpower.
“This is how we are going to build our businesses,” he said. -Bernama