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Aker group awards contract to build world’s two largest offshore rigs
Aker ASA on Oct. 3 said it had awarded a contract to build the world’s two largest offshore oil drilling rigs in a 7.6 billion kroner (US$1.2 billion) deal.
The Oslo-based company said the contract with affiliated shipyard group Aker Kvaerner ASA calls for the completion in Norway of two ultramodern Aker H-6e rigs during 2008.
“The design of the Aker H-6e rig is something entirely new in the rig industry,” said Aker Executive Vice President Martinus Brandal. “The 6e designation denotes that they have been designed for extreme offshore working environments.” Rigs designed for Arctic oceans The enormous rigs are designed to work in any conditions, as oil exploration moves into such harsh and often storm-swept Arctic oceans as the Barents Sea off Norway and Russia, the company says.
The Barents Sea is believed to have vast reserves of oil and natural gas, crucial for Norway to maintain levels of oil production that make the Nordic nation the world’s third-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The new rig design will also be able to drill in extremely deep waters, with the seabed up to 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) under the floating units, a news release said.
The rigs will be built for Aker ASAs new oil exploration unit, Aker Drilling, at the western Norway shipyard Aker Kvaerner Stord, pending board approval from both companies and financing, a news release said. Option for two more rigs Aker also has an option for two more of the rigs, for delivery in 2009 and 2010.
Aker Kvaerner, with interests that include shipbuilding, petroleum development and refining, employs about 22,000 people in more than 30 countries.
Aker ASA, with about 50,000 employees, has a controlling interest in Aker Kvaerner.
—The Associated Press
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