Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar, the authorised Cat®dealer for the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, has completed the commissioning of integrated power solutions for the first of the two new offshore jack-up rigs building projects executed by Lamprell, the UAE-based rig builder and leading provider of services to the international energy sector
Lamprell turned to Al-Bahar for Cat® generator sets after the company received a letter of intent from the International Maritime Industries (IMI) in December 2018 for the construction and delivery of two jack-up drilling rigs, based on the proven LeTourneau Super 116E Self-elevating Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) design. The decision to proceed with Al-Bahar and Caterpillar for their power needs was based on Lamprell’s previous experiences and trust built over a 15-year-long relationship that started in 2008, involving building 12 new jack-ups, one land rig, and over 30 repowers.
Al-Bahar and Caterpillar teams worked together with Lamprell right from the inception stage of the project to design the final power solution needed for the rigs, and in January 2020, when the order was formalised for Lamprell by IMI, Caterpillar and Al-Bahar were both ready with the customised solution required for each rig.
The primary challenge was the project timeline, which was demanding and coincided with the onset of the COVID pandemic, bringing in uncertainty and newer norms. The ready-to-deliver plan and customer-first focus by Al-Bahar ensured all the generators for the rigs were shipped to Dubai ahead of schedule. Cooperation from a reliable manufacturer like Caterpillar helped enable a timely delivery.
Presently, the project status is on the final lap. Installation, start-up, setting to work, and testing have already been completed on the first rig, and the second rig is being worked upon currently. Commenting on the successful completion of the project, Mohamed El Kaddour, vice president of energy & transportation – Al-Bahar, stated, “As one of the authorised Caterpillar dealers in the region, Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar is proud to be a trusted and valued partner to Lamprell in their rig building programmes of offshore jack-up rigs. This mutually beneficial relationship has been nurtured ever since Lamprell built their first rig in 2008 and we hope will extend in the future.”
Deepak Tummalapalli, territory manager, from Caterpillar, quoted, “In addition to making available world-class products for the oil and gas industry, we offer technology solutions to help companies work more safely and efficiently by ensuring unmatched support in the field through a global dealer network.”
Furthermore, commenting on Caterpillar’s oil and gas offerings, Tummalapalli mentioned, “It’s time more people realised that we also help power the global energy industry, in addition to being industry leading manufacturers of construction and mining equipment. Since the 1930s, we’ve been helping companies bring oil and gas to the world as cleanly, reliably, and cost-effectively as possible. Today, we serve four main segments—gas compression, well service, land drilling and production, and offshore drilling and production—with diesel, gas, and dual-fuel engines as well as electric motors, generator sets, transmissions, pumps, fluid ends, valves and seats, flow iron, and more.”
