Odfjell Drilling in joint venture for ultra deepwater drillships

Odfjell Drilling and the Th. Angellopoulos Group through Metro Exploration have entered into a joint venture for the joint ownership of the two ultradeepwater drillships to be delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea in 2nd and 4th quarter 2011.

Metro Exploration will retain 60% ownership in the vessels ordered earlier this year from HHI and Odfjell Drilling will take a 40% ownership in the vessels and be responsible for the construction supervision, marketing and operation of the vessels.

“Odfjell Drilling welcomes this opportunity to expand the fleet in collaboration with MetroExploration. The acquisition is part of the company's strategy to expand its fleet, and to strengthen the position of Odfjell Drilling in the fast growing deep water markets internationally,” says Odfjell Drilling CEO Ketil Lenning.

State of the art drillships
The drillships are of Gusto design, and will be equipped for operations in water depths up to 3000 meters. The vessels incorporate state of the art technology for safe and efficient operations in ultra deep water.

Odfjell Drilling
Is a Norwegian based international drilling, engineering and well services company, and a leading drilling contractor in the North Sea . In addition to its North Sea operations, the company also have extensive activities in the Middle East and the Far East . Odfjell Drilling has more than 35 years’ of international experience of design, ownership and operational management of semisubmersibles, fixed installations, drillships, jack-ups and modular drilling units.

Odfjell Drilling