Viking Moorings, a provider of total mooring solutions to the offshore oil and gas industry, declared the continued expansion of its global presence through an exclusive international agency agreement with Seaweld Engineering of Ghana.

The partnership will see Viking Moorings have a strategic, operational presence along the entire coast of West Africa from Senegal to Congo, with a particular focus on offshore mooring operations in the oil rich Gulf of Guinea. The result for West African operators will be reduced transportation costs, a fully resourced and highly skilled local mooring solution, and access to Viking Mooring’s entire portfolio of mooring equipment.

Furthermore, the partnership with Seaweld is already seeing a number of important developments, including the establishment of Seaweld Viking Global Link Nigeria Ltd. as a separate trading entity in Nigeria.

In December 2010, Viking Moorings conducted the first offshore mooring operation under the new agreement, providing equipment and supervising the installation of a single taut leg pre-laid mooring system on behalf of Kosmos Energy for the drilling unit ‘Atwood Hunter’ at the Teak prospect, offshore Ghana. The mooring system has been designed to allow the rig to skid 400 meters and was connected to the drilling rig in late December. All mooring equipment was mobilised from Seaweld’s Takoradi base with onshore logistics and equipment management provided by Seaweld.

“Today’s partnership with Seaweld will ensure that Viking Moorings is the pre-eminent provider of total mooring solutions throughout West Africa and specifically for areas of high exploration and development activity , such as the Gulf of Guinea”, said Duncan Cuthill, UK Country Manager from Viking Moorings.

“With African operators and rig contractors opening up production in ever deeper waters and their continued need to manage costs and move exploration and drilling rigs quickly and cost effectively, we will ensure that Viking Moorings is the ideal strategic partner, providing a responsive, safe and total mooring solution for West Africa.”

Alfred Fafali Adagbedu, Chief Executive Officer of Seaweld Engineering, continued,“We are delighted to be partnering with a global industry leader, such as Viking Moorings. Our local knowledge and highly skilled personnel, combined with Viking’s industry reach, experience and broad-based equipment inventory, is the perfect match.”

Tags: Viking Moorings