Awilco Offshore was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

drilling rig A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill wa ...

owner. In 2008 the company operated five

jackup rig A jackup rig or a self-elevating unit is a type of mobile platform that consists of a buoyant hull fitted with a number of movable legs, capable of raising its hull over the surface of the sea. The buoyant hull enables transportation of the unit a ...

s and two

semi-submersible Semi-submersible may refer to a self-propelled vessel, such as: * Heavy-lift ship, which partially submerge to allow their cargo (another ship) to float into place for transport *Narco-submarine, some of which remained partially on the surface * ...

accommodation rigs, with several others on order. Awilco was founded in 2005, headquartered in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

and was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Operation of its rigs was done by the company

Premium Drilling Premium may refer to: Marketing * Premium (marketing), a promotional item that can be received for a small fee when redeeming proofs of purchase that come with or on retail products * Premium segment, high-price brands or services in marketing ...

, owned by Awilco and

Sinvest Sinvest () is a Norwegian oil drilling investment company, with headquarters in Kristiansand. The company is a long-term financial and strategic investor in oil resources and offshore companies and has been listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange sinc ...

. The company was acquired by

China Oilfield Services China Oilfield Services (COSL) is an oilfield services company. It is a majority owned subsidiary of Chinese state owned company CNOOC Group. It also has a listed sister company in Hong Kong, CNOOC Limited. China Oilfield Services usually pur ...

in 2008 and merged into its existing operations.

History

The company was founded in February 2005 when it took over the offshore rig assets of Anders Wilhelmsen Group and at the same time acquiring NOK 1 billion in new capital. In August 2005 Awilco bought 20.7% of

Petrojack Petrojack was a Norwegian offshore drilling rig operator. The company had two jackup rigs under order from Jurong Shipyard in Singapore, while it sold its two former rigs ''Petrojack I'' and ''Petrojack III'' to Maersk Drilling. The company was ...

and at the same time performed a new capital expansion. In December 2005 Awilco merged with Offshore Rig Services, taking over the company while issuing new shares to the Offshore Rig Services owners.

Takeover

The company accepted a $2.5

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

acquisition offer from industry peer

on 7 July 2008. The deal was approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in September and a compulsory acquisition of outstanding shares was completed that November. Awilco Offshore was fully integrated into the firm's local subsidiary COSL Norwegian AS.

References

Drilling rig operators Service companies of Norway Petroleum industry in Norway 2008 disestablishments in Norway Norwegian companies established in 2005 {{Norway-company-stub