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Breakthrough deepwater contract for Smedvig
Smedvig says its self-erecting semi-tender rig West Alliance has been awarded a letter of intent for production drilling by Unocal Makassar Ltd. in Indonesia. The three year assignment has an estimated $73 contract value, including upgrading costs. Commencement is scheduled in January 2003,after a brief period in shipyard for modifications required for the Unocal work. This is the first deepwater drilling contract awarded to a self-erecting tender unit. The semi-tender is to drill production wells on the West Seno field at a water depth of approximately 1,000 meters offshore Indonesia. West Alliance is designed for deepwater drilling operations in combination with mini tension-leg platforms (TLP) or Spar platforms. This is a new field development concept allowing the use of dry wellheads, promising significantly lower drilling costs compared with a subsea solution, lower capital expenditure and more cost-effective well intervention and maintenance. "This contract award is a break-through for our new semi-tender deepwater concept," says Smedvig CEO Kjell E Jacobsen. |
