Bumi Armada Bhd, an international offshore oilfield services provider,has bagged a RM844 million (US$262 million)contract
from Russia's Lukoil- Nizhnevolzhskneft Ltd to provide three ice-class vessels to service offshore platforms in the Filanovsky field, in the Caspian Sea.

Each of the contracts is for a period of 10 years with further
extensions of up to another 20 years with an estimated aggregate value of RM1.56 billion (US$483) if the extension options are fully exercised.

An interim contract of approximately RM59 million (US$18 million) was also signed for the provision of two support vessels and one rescue vessel to be delivered in November next year for deployment pending delivery of the purpose built ice-class vessels.

Bumi Armada executive director/chief executive director Hassan
Basma said the contracts further reinforce the consolidation of its business in the Caspian region and strengthens the market position.

"It is Bumi Armada's first entry into the Russian Offshore Support Vessel (OSV) sector and our first in building ice class vessels to complement our OSV fleet of some 50 vessels," he said after the contract signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur today.

He also said Bumi Armada was looking forward to exploring Africa with Lukoil, specifically Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Meanwhile, Hassan said the ice-vessels project is the second collaboration with Lukoil and expects the company's capital expenditure for 2014 to increase to US$2 billion compared to between US$500 million -US$700 million this year.-- Bernama