Conoco And Kvaerner Establish New Deepwater Manufacture Company

Conoco and Aker Kvaerner have established a new company, DeepWater Composites AS, that will manufacture and sell composite products for use in the deepwater exploration and field development segments of the oil and gas industry. Conoco and Aker Kvaerner will each hold 50-percent interest in Deepwater Composites AS.

Conoco and Aker Kvaerner have co-operated under a technology alliance since 1995 to develop, test and qualify two carbon fiber composite products that provide a technological and economic breakthrough to facilitate the exploitation of oil reserves in deep water. The products, CompRiser(TM), a composite riser suitable for all top-tensioned riser applications on drilling rigs and floating production platforms and CompTether(TM), a composite tether for mooring tension leg platforms (TLPs), provide significant cost and weight savings in deepwater applications.

Speaking about today's announcement, Raymond Carlsen, President for Kvaerner Oilfield Products, a subsidiary of Aker Kvaerner, said: "The decision to commercialize these products marks the start of a new and exciting phase for establishing composite products in the offshore market. This builds on the success of the joint development program that culminated with a full field test of a composite drilling riser on the Heidrun TLP in the Norwegian Sea. The offshore industry has recognized the need for lighter and more cost-effective solutions for deepwater field development and for deepwater drilling, and we believe these products will play a significant role."

J. Todd Creeger, Norske Conoco's Manager of Extraction, also said: "The establishment of DeepWater Composites underlines Conoco's continued commitment to new technology, especially in deepwater. The development of CompRiser(TM) and CompTether(TM) will help increase the number of development options available to field operators and extend the economic range of TLPs and other floating platforms for ultradeep projects. Conoco wants to take an active role in bringing this technology to the market and build on our synergies with Aker Kvaerner through DeepWater Composites."

DeepWater Composites has offices in Oslo, Norway, and Houston.

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