Vyborg Shipyard to provide first drilling rig for Shtokman field in October 2010

OJSC Vyborg Shipyard plans to deliver its first floating drilling rig for the development of the Shtokman field in October 2010, the company's general director, Valery Levchenko, told journalists on Friday. "This rig will be delivered in October 2010," he said. Levchenko said the laying of the first rig at Vyborg Shipyard took place on Friday. He added that the laying of second rig of this type would take place in three months, which will be released for commercial use in March 2011, Interfax reports according to RZD-Partner.

The drilling rigs are being built on the order of OOO Gazflot. In January of this year, the company signed a contract with South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries for the supply of topside facilities for drilling rigs. The MOSS CS-50 platform was selected as the base model for the project as it is designed for operations in northern seas. Vyborg Shipyards, which specializes in the construction of technologies for the development of offshore fields and drilling rigs, won Gazprom's (RTS: GAZP) tender for the installation of two drilling platforms worth 59 billion rubles for the development of the Shtokman field.