Awilco Offshore was a Norwegian drilling rig 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 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 of ...

and was listed on the

Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange ( no, Oslo Børs) (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway’s only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, deriv ...

. 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 si ...

. 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 Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...

1 billion in new

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

. 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 Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

with

Offshore Rig Services Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * O ...

, taking over the company while issuing new shares to the Offshore Rig Services owners.

Takeover

The company accepted a $2.5 billion acquisition offer from industry peer

on 7 July 2008. The deal was approved by the

China Securities Regulatory Commission The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is a government ministry of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the main regulator of the securities industry in China. History China's first Securities Law was ...

in September and a compulsory acquisition of outstanding shares was completed that November. Awilco Offshore was fully integrated into the firm's local

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

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