KBR subsidiary GVA has signed a license agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) in Korea for the fabrication of its GVA 4000NCS, CatD Drilling Unit. The concept for the unit is tailor-made by the industry for Statoil primarily for drilling production and well completion in mature fields.

Songa Offshore, the drilling contractor, has ordered four GVA 4000NCS units to be fabricated at DSME to operate in the North Sea Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) for Statoil. The workhorse CatD is designed by GVA’s engineering team in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is developed with operator and industry partners to meet a lower cost of drilling, well completion, and to operate safely and efficiently, according to KBR.

The unit is based on the proven GVA7500 design and is able to operate at water depths up to 1,300 m (4,265 ft) and drill wells down to 8,500 m (27,887 ft). It is a tailor-made, semi-submersible rig for mid-water segments on the NCS, but is also applicable in other regions. The rig concept can easily be converted for work in deepwater, high-pressure, high-temperature operations as well as Arctic regions.