Speech by Professor Chong Chi Tat, NUS Deputy President & Provost
for the Inaugural Keppel Offshore & Marine Lecture
at NUS Faculty of Engineering LT7A on 18 July 2003
Mr Yeo Cheow Tong, Minister for Transport
Mr Choo Chiau Beng, Chairman of Keppel Offshore & Marine
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to the Inaugural Keppel Offshore & Marine Lecture at the National University of Singapore.
The Marine and Port Industries represent one of the most important sectors for the economy in Singapore with a contribution of 6% GDP. Singapore has captured about 15% of the S$18 billion in ship repairs in the world’s market, 70% for ship conversion to Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels and 60% of new build jack-up rigs. The estimated global market size for offshore oil & gas industry is about S$150 billion, with excellent opportunities for companies in Singapore to actively participate in the global market.
The Department of Civil Engineering, NUS, has in its Bachelor of Engineering program a strong emphasis on Offshore Engineering, for students with interest in the field. This emphasis is appropriate in view of the global opportunities and the needs for trained manpower for the industry. This flexible plan enables students to select relevant multi-disciplinary course modules available in the departments of the Faculty of Engineering through guidance from experienced staff serving as mentors. The relevant modules include the intensive three-week design project for final year undergraduates, a module on Design of Offshore Structures, and the Industrial Attachment programme. Separately, the Faculty has also organized, and will further develop, professional short courses delivered by overseas and NUS staff, including lectures on floating offshore structures by Professor Torguir Moan of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, our first Keppel Professor, early this week.
At the R&D side, our Centre of Offshore and Maritime Engineering (COME) has been actively working with Keppel on a variety of projects related to jack-up rigs and FPSOs. There is also collaborative project with Imperial College and American Bureau of Shipping. There will also be joint research projects with Professor Moan and his colleagues in Norway.
In recent months, we have been working closely with the Economic Development Board to establish the Centre for Offshore Research & Engineering (CORE) as an R&D and manpower initiative for the Singapore Offshore and Marine Industries. CORE aims to promote and coordinate R&D and manpower developments, and establish a platform for networking among offshore and marine industries, universities and research institutes.
The appointment of Professor Moan to this chair is an important occasion for us. Professor Moan is a world renowned authority in Offshore and Marine Technology, and is one of the most distinguished academics in the field of risk/safety assessment of marine structures. We see the appointment as creating new opportunities in our collaboration with institutions in Norway. In the long term, the Keppel Professorship will have major impact on education and research in offshore and marine engineering in the University, and on the industry in Singapore as well. We are therefore very pleased to acknowledge the wonderful support from Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd for the Keppel Professorship in NUS. We value very highly this endowment and the confidence that Keppel has entrusted in us. NUS will ensure the quality and standard that is expected of appointees to this chair. We look forward to continued warm and close working relationship with Keppel Offshore and Marine.
Thank you!