Statoil is awarding Aker Solutions a contract today for hiring of an entirely new type of rig which represents an important technological advance for the industry.

The category B rig will be an important contribution towards increasing recovery from existing fields.

Development of technology for increasing the recovery from operating fields is an area of commitment for Statoil. For the last year, the average oil recovery rate from Statoil operated fields has risen from 49 percent to 50 percent.

The category B rig is designed and equipped for the industrialisation of drilling and intervention services in existing production wells and represent a new sort of service.

“This will be a very important part of the toolbox for increased recovery on the Norwegian continental shelf, making it possible to produce oil and gas that otherwise would be lost,” says Statoil executive vice president of Technology, Projects and Drilling, Margareth Øvrum. “The category B rig is the result of long-term, targeted technology development to increase subsea well recovery rates.”

Tags: Aker Solutions, Statoil