Viking Offshore & Marine Limited (Viking) which is building a portfolio of mainstream offshore, marine and drilling assets, said today that it has secured a 50-month bareboat charter for a land rig system worth approximately US $32 million. Under the contract, SGX-listed Viking’s wholly owned subsidiary Viking Asset a Chinese land rig specialist from September 2014. The Chinese rig builder, which specialises in the design, manufacture and assembly of land rigs, has secured a contract with a major South-Asian energy operator, which will deploy the rig in North-Africa. Drilling will commence immediately on oil exploration sites licensed to the joint venture of the South-Asian energy operator and the local energy authorities.