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Baker Hughes wins Johan Sverdrup contract

Deal for one of Norway's largest reserve basins follows rough patch for drilling contractor.

By Daniel J. Graeber
Norwegian arm of struggling oil field services company Baker Hughes bags contract for Johan Sverdrup reserve basin, one of the largest ever discovered off the coast of Norway. Photo courtesy of Statoil.
Norwegian arm of struggling oil field services company Baker Hughes bags contract for Johan Sverdrup reserve basin, one of the largest ever discovered off the coast of Norway. Photo courtesy of Statoil.

STAVANGER, Norway, July 6 (UPI) -- The Norwegian arm of oil services company Baker Hughes received a $187 million contract for onshore services supporting the Johan Sverdrup field, Statoil said.

"Drilling will commence in 2016," Oivind Reinertsen, Statoil's senior vice president for Johan Sverdrup development, said in a statement. "Together with Baker Hughes we will quickly establish an integrated operations team, working closely with the [Norwegian] drilling and rig contractor Odfjell to plan and optimize well deliveries."

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The contract for Baker Hughes runs for six years and includes four-year options for the life of field, one of the largest discoveries ever made on the Norwegian continental shelf.

There was no statement on the contract from Baker Hughes, which in April said it was cutting about 17 percent of its workforce, or around 10,500 jobs, as it works to streamline its finances amid the drop in exploration and production spending brought on by lower crude oil prices. During the first quarter, Baker Hughes reported revenue of $4.59 billion, a 20 percent decline year-on-year.

Baker Hughes emerged as a takeover target by rival oil field services company Halliburton in November.

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For Statoil, a Norwegian metal worker in late June started cutting steel for the jacket, the tower support structure, for a riser platform used for Johan Sverdrup. At a designed 26,500 tons, the entire jacket will be the largest in Europe once completed.

The first phase of operations at the field will represent $15 billion in investments. Statoil estimates Johan Sverdrup should generate $200 billion in revenues over the next 50 years.

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