Hayleys Energy Services completes Sri Lanka’s first oil rig testing and modification

Director Advantis Free Zone Amal Rodrigo, Group Director Hayleys Advantis Ltd. S.R. Sadananda, Hayleys Energy Services CEO/Director Chas Charles and General Manager Hayleys Energy Services Ltd. Ricky Barnett 

In a significant and strategic shift in Sri Lanka’s oil and gas industry, Hayleys Energy Services last week announced that it had completed the testing, repair and modification of the hydraulic work on the rig Lewek Explorer 600, which is due to be mobilised for an oil field project in Bangladesh shortly. 

This is the first time an oil rig has been serviced on shore in Sri Lanka with Hayleys Energy Services having been awarded the contract by EMAS Energy Services (Thailand). This was made possible due to the availability of the Advantis Free Zone, located in Katunayake, which enabled a streamlined service of storage, repair and maintenance with green channel operations, relieving the client of all taxes and duties. 

Operating in the field of Oil and Gas logistics services since 2008, Hayleys Energy Services has been moving rigs across several countries such as Thailand, the US, Canada, UAE and DR Congo. Through the relationships established in the industry, Hayleys Energy Services identified the potential savings for their client EMAS by bringing this rig to Sri Lanka for assembly, testing and modification. The components of the rig were brought down from several locations across the globe, including the main component which was stored at the Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah, UAE. The green channel operations of the Advantis Free Zone enabled this operation to be carried out with significant savings to EMAS while contributing nearly Rs. 100 million in revenue to the Sri Lankan economy.

“The end-to-end logistics service offering of the Advantis Group and the experience in handling complex logistics operations gave us the confidence to approach EMAS and secure this new line of business for our group. We are also proud to say that this is the first time the hub concept has been utilised in Sri Lanka for the repair and refurbishment of an oil rig, showcasing to the world the potential in this small island,” said Chief Executive Officer of Hayleys Energy Services Chas Charles.  

The unique geographical positioning of Sri Lanka and the benefits offered through the Advantis Free Zone, such as savings on mobilisation and demobilisations, duty free status, the quick turnaround of customs clearance, competitive labour and material cost, etc. enabled Hayleys Energy Services to secure this business for Sri Lanka, beating the bid from the Hamriyah Free Zone.

“The successful completion of this operation in Sri Lanka proves that we are ready to serve large oil and gas companies such as EMAS Energy Services. This was made possible due the Government’s initiative of establishing a Free Zone in Sri Lanka, the benefits of which we are seeing today,” said General Manager of Hayleys Energy Services Ricky Barnett. 

Hayleys Energy Services is a subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis Ltd., the transportation and logistics arm of diversified blue chip conglomerate Hayleys Plc. The company is a pioneer in Oil and Gas logistics services in Sri Lanka, backed by the end to end logistics portfolio of the Hayleys Advantis Group.

The Advantis Free Zone is a fully-owned subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis, formed in 2014, under the Government’s initiative of establishing Sri Lanka as a logistics hub in the South Asian region.