Acergy announces investment in new state-of–the- art pipelay ship for operations in deepwater
Acergy S.A. (NASDAQ-GS: ACGY; Oslo Stock Exchange: ACY) announced today that it has acquired the Borealis, a strategic enabler, which is expected to drive superior returns for future activity.This differentiating asset, currently being built at the Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore, is a DP3 dynamic positioning vessel equipped with a 5,000T crane. Acergy plans to install a 1,000T J-Lay tower and state-of-the-art 600T S-Lay equipment. It will also be fitted with a range of support systems and construction equipment for worldwide deepwater and harsh environment operations. Provision will be made for accepting one of the Company’s heavy duty flexible pipelay systems.
Final completion and operational delivery of the ship is scheduled for H1 2012. Total costs, upon delivery, are expected to be less than $500m, including approximately $260m relating to the acquisition of the ship and delivery as per the original design. This investment will be funded entirely from the Company’s existing cash resources.
Jean Cahuzac, Acergy’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Borealis provides unprecedented flexibility and capability, which together with our engineering and project management expertise, will enable us to meet our clients’ strategic needs, particularly in deepwater and harsh environment acreage.
Our strong operating and financial position has enabled us to capitalise on this unique opportunity at an attractive price. This investment represents a key milestone in Acergy’s long-term strategy implementation. We expect this ship to be a strategic enabler to exploit future market growth opportunities and to generate superior returns for shareholders.”
