ExxonMobil subsidiary awards semi-submersible rig construction contract in Azerbaijan

ExxonMobil Corporation announced Tuesday that its subsidiary, Exxon Azerbaijan, has awarded a contract to construct a semi-submersible drilling rig. The rig design will include the capability to drill in water depths up to 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and drill depths to 9.140 meters (30,000 feet). This will be the first semi-submersible rig newly built in the Azerbaijan in the past decade. The new world-class rig, which will be the most modern in the Caspian Sea, will be used first to drill in the deep water in the Azerbaijan sector.

The rig construction contract was awarded to Maersk Contractors. Construction is expected to take approximately three years.

Azeri workers and engineers will be employed in the construction of the rig at the Caspian Shipyard Company, which is a joint venture of SOCAR, Keppel Fels and Lukoil.

ExxonMobil has been active in Azerbaijan since 1995 through subsidiaries holding assets in five production Sharing Agreements covering almost one million acres. The agreements cover the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli, Araz-Alov-Sharg, Zafar-Mashal, Nakhchivan and Oguz block.*