MMA Awarded Two PSV Contracts with INPEX

Mermaid Marine Australia Limited (MMA) advised that it had received a Letter of Intent to commence detailed design for two (2) x Platform Supply Vessels (PSV’s) which had the potential to lead to the award of a long-term material contract. MMA also advised that the award of this contract was subject to the relevant client’s internal approvals process.

The Directors of MMA are pleased to announce that this internal approvals process has now been completed and MMA has been awarded a contract for two PSV’s for long-term production support operations with INPEX Operations Australia Pty Ltd (INPEX). MMA will operate two (2) x newbuild Vard 1 08 PSV’s for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project with a fixed term of 5 years fixed plus two (2) x five (5) year options.

The PSV’s will be built in Asia to INPEX’s specifications, for delivery to MMA in late 2015 and early 2016 respectively. They will be operated by Australian resident crew, and will supply the Ichthys Project’s offshore facilities from Darwin and Broome.

The contract value for the firm period is A$160 million at today’s exchange rate, and A$500 million in total should all of the options be exercised.

The award of this contract further extends MMA's strategy of operating state of the art PSV vessels in both the Australian and South East Asian markets. These two newbuild vessels will complement the:
? Recently delivered “Mermaid Leeuwin” (VARD 05L) which is contracted to Woodside Petroleum for the next 18 months with options to extend;
? “Mermaid Inscription” (MMC 887) working for Allseas Contractors Australia;
? “Mermaid Leveque” contracted to Subsea7 for 8 months; and
? “Mermaid Vigilance” recently contracted under a Letter of Intent to operate in Malaysia for 7 months.

MMA’s strategy to move into PSV operations extends its ability to service its clients’ needs through all phases of the Oil and Gas cycle from exploration, through construction to long-term production activities.