Keppel Corporation "surprisingly upbeat" on potential drillship orders using new design

Management expects an order within a year.

Talking to Keppel Corporation after the company released its 3Q13 results, Barclays Research notes that the managemenat "was surprisingly upbeat about the outlook for a potential drillship order using the new design."

Apparently, the company is so bullish that it hopes to secure an order already in the next 12 months, emboldened by the fact that it has received "good feedback" from customers, according to Barlcays.

Still the research firm noted that Keppel management will not accept just any order that comes and would prefer to have it "at our price and on our terms".

"There are still yard slots available for jackups for 2015 delivery, and Keppel's management is hopeful of securing a few more orders in the next few months," Barclays added.