Conoco and Aker Kvaerner To Establish DeepWater Composites

Conoco and Aker Kvaerner, part of Kvaerner, the international oil services, engineering and construction, pulp and paper and shipbuilding group, announced the establishment of a new company, DeepWater Composites AS, that will manufacture and sell composite products for use in the deepwater exploration and field development segments of the oil and gas industry. Conoco and Aker Kvaerner will each hold 50-percent interest in Deepwater Composites AS. Conoco and Aker Kvaerner have co-operated under a technology alliance since 1995 to develop, test and qualify two carbon fiber composite products that provide a technological and economic breakthrough to facilitate the exploitation of oil reserves in deep water. The products, CompRiser(TM), a composite riser suitable for all top-tensioned riser applications on drilling rigs and floating production platforms and CompTether(TM), a composite tether for mooring tension leg platforms (TLPs), provide significant cost and weight savings in deepwater applications. Speaking about the announcement, Raymond Carlsen, President for Kvaerner Oilfield Products, a subsidiary of Aker Kvaerner, said: "The decision to commercialize these products marks the start of a new and exciting phase for establishing composite products in the offshore market. This builds on the success of the joint development program that culminated with a full field test of a composite drilling riser on the Heidrun TLP in the Norwegian Sea. The offshore industry has recognized the need for lighter and more cost-effective solutions for deepwater field development and for deepwater drilling, and we believe these products will play a significant role."