International Maritime Industries (IMI), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, Bahri, Lamprell and Hyundai Heavy Industries, has signed an agreement with ARO Drilling for the construction of a new offshore drilling rig in Saudi Arabia. The jackup, to be named Kingdom 4, will be built at IMI’s 12m sq m yard in Ras Al-Khair. The fully functional yard can host the construction of up to six offshore drilling rigs, 25 offshore support vessels, and 18 large commercial vessels annually, including chemical tankers, bulk carriers, product tankers, and VLCCs. The facility will also provide maintenance and repair services for up to 250 vessels and 15 rigs each year. “The commencement of construction of Kingdom 4 demonstrates the continued strength of our partnership with ARO and reflects our strategic commitment to building world-class offshore capabilities within the Kingdom,” said Wail Al-Jaafari, chairman of IMI. This announcement follows the two companies’ partnership on the construction of several rigs, most recently the Kingdom 3, the first offshore jackup rig set to be built in Saudi Arabia. The two companies also worked together on the previously delivered Kingdom 1 and Kingdom 2. All four rigs are part of ARO Drilling’s plan from 2018 to supply Saudi Aramco with 20 new jackups over the following decade. When the plan was announced, IMI was put in charge of construction, while GustoMSC and Lamprell worked together on a new design for the rigs. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsSaudi Arabia