South Korea: DSME to Build GVA’s CatD Drilling Unit

KBR announced that its subsidiary GVA has signed a license agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd (DSME) in Korea for the fabrication of its GVA 4000NCS, CatD Drilling Unit. The concept for the unit is tailor-made by the industry for Statoil primarily for drilling production and well completion in mature fields.

Songa Offshore, the drilling contractor, has ordered four GVA 4000NCS units to be fabricated at DSME to operate in the North Sea Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) for Statoil. The workhorse CatD is designed by GVA’s experienced engineering team in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is developed together with operator and industry partners to meet a lower cost of drilling, well completion and to operate safely and efficiently.

The unit is based on the proven GVA7500 design and is able to operate at water depths up to 4,265 feet (1,300 meters) and drill wells down to 27,887 feet (8,500 meters). It is a tailor-made, semi-submersible rig for mid-water segments on the NCS, but is also applicable in other regions. The rig concept can easily be converted for work in deepwater, high-pressure, high-temperature operations as well as arctic regions.

“We are very pleased that Statoil has selected our GVA design for its CatD development on the NCS,” said Mats Lindén, managing director, GVA. “This design is based on the proven GVA7500, which has been developed and improved upon after many years of operational experience with GVA Drilling Units in service across the world, from the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico.”