China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) signed a contract on the drilling equipment package of CNOOC' deepwater semi-submersible drilling platform with Norway Aker Kvaerner MH. The contract sum was about 130 million US dollars, and it indicates that the first deepwater semi-sub drilling unit of China has entered the substantive stage of development and construction.

The basic design of the deepwater semi-sub drilling unit is to be conducted by CNOOC and American's F&G, and they will jointly own the intellectual property rights. The unit, which is expected to be completed in early 2011, will be innovatively designed according to the operational requirements of CNOOC and the severe conditions of the South China Sea.

Aker Kvaerner MH is a subsidiary company of Norway Aker Kvaerner Group, which is mainly in charge of the production and exploitation of oil and natural gas. It is the biggest contractor on deepwater semi-sub drilling units and equipments of Norway and has a long cooperation history with CNOOC. Since the 1990s, the cooperation projects between two parties has nearly reached twenty.