Image:newstong.co.kr
The Libongos drillship – the first of two drillships to start operating in the first half of 2019 – was launched in Busan, South Korea on March 21.
Libongos and its sister ship Quenguelas – which is currently in the final building phase – will be operated by Seadrill as part of the Sonadrill Joint Venture between Sonangol and Seadrill. The drillships, built at the Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in Busan, are seventh generation high spec ultra-deepwater drillships.
Libongos was christened and launched by Sonangol CEO, Carlos Saturnino, the ship’s godmother, First Lady Ana Dias Lourenço, and DSME CEO, Sung Leep Jung.
“This project is another milestone in relaunching the Angolan oil industry, in the quest to increase production and national reserves. It also increases the integrated service offerings of the primary chain, diminishing the dependency on external availability in meeting the exploration program milestones,” Saturnino said at the event.
The recently launched drillship will create 1,200 new jobs and has the capacity to operate in deep waters, ultradeep waters and pre-salt water, and was conceived as part of the national strategy for oil production, that seeks to guarantee new discoveries and the consolidation of reserves for the future.
The event was also attended by Angolan Secretary of State for Petroleum, José Barroso; Angola’s National Oil and Gas Agency CEO, Paulino Jerónimo; Angola’s ambassador to South Korea, Albino Malungo; and executive administrators and senior officials of Sonangol.
