Aker awarded drilling upgrade contract on Oseberg B

March 20, 2009

Oseberg Field Center. PHOTO: Vegar Stokset / StatoilHydro

StatoilHydro has awarded Aker Solutions an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for upgrading the drilling facilities on the Oseberg B platform. The project is expected to extend the productive lifetime of Oseberg B. Contract value is estimated to be approximately NOK 1 300 million.

“This is the first significant drilling upgrade project in the North Sea. We are very pleased to demonstrate that we are well positioned for this emerging market. This project falls solidly within our core competence and will benefit from our in-house technologies in drilling, engineering, equipment and offshore integration,” says Jarle Tautra, executive vice president, Aker Solutions.The contract covers upgrades of all drilling systems for wells of up to 9 000 metres, delivering increased drilling regularity. Scope of work includes prefabrication and offshore installation of equipment and prefabricated items, and offshore completion and commissioning.

In Norway the project will utilise Aker Solutions’ drilling equipment business unit in Kristiansand together with the company’s centre of maintenance and modification expertise based in Bergen. Prefabrication will take place in Egersund. Work under the contract will start immediately and be completed in April 2013. The contract party is Aker Solutions’ subsidiary Aker Offshore Partner AS.