On Thursday 25 February 2010 from 9.30 to 11.50 a.m. the naming ceremony of a self-erecting tender barge built by Seadrill Asia Ltd. at Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn. Bhd. was held at Pasir Gudang Shipyard, Johor, Malaysia, with Mr. Nopadol Gunavibool, Thai Ambassador to Singapore as Guest of Honour and Mrs. Anchulee Gunavibool as Lady Sponsor.

Upon arrival, Ambassador Nopadol and Mrs. Anchulee Gunavibool, who were acoompanied by senior representatives from the Petroleum Authority of Thailand Exploration and Production Pcl. (PTTEP), namely Mr. Somchai Manopinives, Vice President, Operations Support Division, Mr. Charlie Charuvastr, Assistant to the CEO of PTTEP (International Relations) and Mr. Pornpoch Tiraputra, Senior Manager, Drilling Dept., PTTEP were welcomed by Mr. Wan Yussof Wan Hamat, Managing Director and CEO of Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn. Bhd. (MMHE), Mr. Alf Ragnar Lovdal, Senior Vice President, Seadrill Tender Rigs, and Mr. Per Wullf, Executive Vice President and Chief Operation Officer.

In his speech, Ambassador Nopadol pointed out that the completion of this self-erecting tender barge marks an important milestone in the successful and safe construction of another Seadrill tender assisted drilling vessel, which will be named “Seadrill T-12”. He noted that the PTTEP and Seadrill had a long working relationship since 1992. The T-12 will be the fifth, after her sisters T1, T8, T3 and T6, which have operated in the PTTEP operations respectively. And she will be the second Seadrill drilling rig currently working in the Gulf of Thailand for the PTTEP.

This vessel, which is capable of carrying load of approx. 3,000 tonnes, has many new high technological features that were designed based on some of the many lessons learned while drilling and developing Thailand natural resources over the past 30 years.For technical details of the T-12, please click here.

Ambassador Nopadol pointed out that as the world economy is recovering from recession, finding and developing domestic gas reserves is crucial for the Thai economy and its people. The T-12 will play an essential part in meeting these goals. While the number of wells will increase and the efficiency and safety of drilling of these wells will be more and more importance, Seadrill T-12 will play an important role.

After the speeches, Mrs. Anchulee Gunavibool, as Lady Sponsor, named the vessel “T12” and cut the line to reveal the name on its side. All the guests were then escorted on board to view the inside of the vessel.

Seadrill T-12 will sail to its operating area in the Gulf of Thailand in March 2010.