OPEC producer Kuwait has awarded contracts for the construction of 86 oil rigs at a cost of nearly $1.3 billion, the largest rig order in the Gulf emirate.
State operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded the deals to local firms as well as companies from the United States, Italy and China, said KOC's CEO Jamal Jaafar.
He said 30 rigs have been installed and the rest will be delivered in the coming months, adding that rig lease costs from $12,000 to $14,000 a day.
Jaafar said many companies vied for the four tenders which were issued in late 2017 and that 12 of them were pre-qualified.
He did not identify the winners but said pre-qualified firms include Schlumberger of the U.S., Saipem of Italy, China's Sinopec, Canada's Trinidad Drilling, KC Deutag of Scotland and Kuwaiti-based United Precision Drilling.
"It was the largest rig order in the KOC's history…it is a three-year lease contract with an option for extension and is part of the company's strategy to reach an oil production capacity of 3.65million barrels per day," he added.
