After the inauguration of the new drilling riser manufacturing facility in Rio das Ostras, Aker Solutions has signed an agreement with Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás S.A. for the delivery of a fourth deepwater marine drilling riser system. The value of the agreement is approximately USD 55 million.
The project scope comprises the production of a deepwater marine drilling riser system, including tools and buoyancy modules, for the rig Alpha Star, which will be able to operate in water depths up to 2,700 meters in Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and Southeast Asia.
Delivery of the deepwater marine drilling riser system is scheduled for Q3 2010. The system will be manufactured at Aker Solutions' facility in Rio das Ostras, Brazil.
"The Brazilian oil and gas industry will contract a large amount of drilling units in the next decade. With local manufacturing and our exclusive CLIP Connector technology on offer, we are prepared to supply the drilling market needs with local content and with high-end riser technology," says Marcelo Taulois, president of Aker Solutions' subsea business area in Brazil.
The deepwater drilling risers manufactured in Rio das Ostras use the CLIP Connector technology. The technology is exclusive to Aker Solutions and offers significant time savings when connecting the riser joints, thereby offering rig operators considerable reduction in costs from both reduced manpower and rig operations.
The current drilling riser projects being undertaken at the Rio das Ostras facility comprise the rig Olinda Star, which will operate in water depths up to 1,100 meters; the Gold Star, which will operate at depths up to 2,000 meters; and the Lone Star, which is capable of operating in water depths up to 2,400 meters.
The contract party is the legal entity of Aker Solutions in Brazil. The contract is booked as order intake in Q2 2008.