Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine (SCMN.SI), the world’s No. 2 oil rig builder, reported a doubling in third-quarter net profit and said demand for high-end rigs was recovering.

“The market for premium and high-specification jack-up rigs has improved in recent months with strong enquiries for such rigs,” the firm said in a statement on Thursday.

 

“The long-term prospects for such jack-ups are strong, given the highly skewed age profile of the world’s jack-up fleet with 70% of the fleet estimated to be older than 25 years by 2012,” it added.

 

Sembcorp Marine said its net order book stood at $4.7 billion, up from $4.3 billion when it reported its second quarter results. 

 

Its order book, which included $2.3 billion in contracts secured so far this year, will keep its yards busy till the first quarter of 2013.

 

Sembcorp Marine, owned by Temasek (TEM.UL) unit Sembcorp Industries (SCIL.SI), posted a net profit of $296 million for the quarter ended September, up from $145 million a year ago.

 

Its profit included a write-back of $53 million stemming from a settlement with French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) over several disputed foreign exchange transactions.

 

Excluding the write-back, Sembcorp Marine earned $243 million, ahead of a S$197 million average forecast of four analysts polled by Reuters.

 

Looking ahead, Sembcorp Marine said the fundamentals driving the oil and gas sector remain intact with oil prices having improved significantly from the trough to around US$80 ($102.7) per barrel.

 

The offshore marine industry has seen a slowdown in new orders since the recession, worsened by BP’s (BP.L) oil spill that led to a U.S. government ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico this year. The ban was lifted last month.

 

Analysts say Sembcorp Marine and Singapore rival Keppel Corp (KPLM.SI) are in a strong position to get new orders Brazil’s Petrobras (PETR4.SA) which should start coming in during the first quarter of 2011.

 

Sembcorp Marine shares have risen by 28% so far this year, slightly outperforming Keppel whose shares are up about 27% and beating the the 11% rise in the benchmark Singapore index.