Brobekk AS of Norway has let a contract to Penn Central Corp.'s Marathon LeTourneau Co. for a 116C cantilever, jack up drilling rig designed for the Gulf of Mexico.
The unit, to be built at a Vicksburg, Miss., yard, will be the first offshore rig built in the U.S. since 1986.
Marathon will equip the rig with 410 ft of leg for drilling to 25,000 ft in as much as 300 ft of water. Delivery is expected in December 1991.
Construction of one or two rigs a year is "a positive turning point" but not a full recovery, said J. Earl Beckman, president of Marathon LeTourneau.
A.P. Moller of Denmark recently let a contract for two harsh environment jack ups for delivery by 1992. The units, to be built in Singapore, will work in the North Sea (OGJ, Feb. 12, p. 27).
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