Westcon, Archer Enter Rig Alliance

Rig owners and oil companies will have one point of contact for the coming large modification and upgrade project through AWA – a so far unknown rig alliance on the Norwegian Continental Shelf within drilling operations between Westcon and Archer.

The well established companies Westcon Group and Archer find together to create a “one-shop-stop” for all types of rigs and platform. It has become a so far unknown constellation within drilling operations in the North Sea.

“Westcon and Archer are two complementary, leading companies that with an alliance will from a solid, reliable and cost-effective supplier with a service offer no of our competitors can match” says Øystein Matre, CEO of Westcon Group.

The alliance, which is named AWA (Archer & Westcon Alliance), will offer integrated services within modifications, upgrade and decommissioning of both floating rigs and platforms.

“The high activity within the market for modifications and upgrades of rigs and platforms, and the need for one, flexible point of contact for large projects, is the motivation for forming the alliance. Together we can manage larger jobs on all rig and platforms and in a time and cost effective way with high quality”, says Matre.

He points at Westcon and Archer’s capability of delivery, competence, and capacity within drilling services and equipment as key advantages for the alliance. The alliance partners will divide the work in projects on a “best suited”-basis, and typically Archer will provide the engineering, procurement and project manager positions, while Westcon will provide construction engineering support services including 3D scanning and modeling, fabrication and installation, and overall project control systems to the project.

“We are companies that beautifully complement each other. Already we are working closely with very positive experience and we strongly believe that further cooperation will be for the common good and contribute to increased value for our customers”, says Kjetil Bjørnsen, president and general manager of the North Sea Region in Archer.

The alliance is first time presented at the Modification Conference in Stavanger March 13th to 14th 2013.

[mappress]