China sets up company to handle rigs millstone

China has established a single purpose entity to deal with dozens of offshore rigs completed at Chinese yards, but abandoned by foreign rig managers.

Beijing Guohai Offshore Engineering Assets Management Company Ltd was incorporated late last year by the State Council’s Assets Supervision & Administration Commission to handle up to 80 offshore rigs stacked at Chinese yards without employment.

Sources said that Guohai will take over the ownership of some of these rigs, mostly jack-ups, so as to get the yards out of financial troubles incurred by the debts, maintenance costs and bank loans.