Iran signs on Chinese rig
Iran’s North Oil Drilling Company has reportedly signed a $143 million deal with a unit of China National Petroleum Corporation.
North Oil Drilling Company’s head Hedayatollah Khademi told IRNA news agency the rig will be delivered within the next eight months for deployment in the Persian Gulf oil and gas fields.
Khademi also said his company was planning to place orders for two additional oil drilling rigs with the Chinese unit.
Upstream has earlier learnt CNPC’s unit China Petroleum Technology & Development Corporation (CPTDC) was considering purchasing a Super M2 jack-up rig under construction at China’s Yantai Raffles Shipyard.
The rig was known to be 60% complete as of late February 2010.
Sources also said CPTDC has approached Asian shipyards to build two jack-up rigs for export to Iran.
A CPTDC official declined any comment on the rig deal when approached by Upstream.