GE Oil & Gas Wins $70 Million StatoilHydro Contract, Heralding First Global Deployment of Subsea Controls System Powered by the VetcoGray SemStar5

HOUSTON.- GE Oil & Gas, a world leading company in oil and gas advanced technology equipment and services, has been awarded a contract worth more than $70 million by StatoilHydro to upgrade a suite of subsea control systems for StatoilHydro’s Tordis Vigdis Controls Modification (TVCM) project. The solution will incorporate GE’s award-winning next-generation subsea electronics module—the VetcoGray SemStar5.

The TVCM project will be the first globally to deploy the VetcoGray SemStar5 subsea electronics module and has the key objectives of higher subsea reliability, extended service life and improved environmental monitoring. The award-winning next-generation VetcoGray SemStar5 subsea electronics modules are being developed and manufactured at GE Oil & Gas’ Nailsea facilities in Bristol, U.K., along with the VetcoGray ModPod subsea control modules, and will be shipped to Norway for installation offshore in 2010 and 2011.

The TVCM project will further benefit from the newly upgraded GE Oil & Gas test and assembly facilities at Dusavik, Stavanger, Norway with the development of intervention tooling mainly being carried out from the Dusavik site.

Manuel Terranova, senior vice president, Subsea Product Platform, GE Oil & Gas said, “We recognize the importance of this new technology developed for StatoilHydro as a breakthrough concept for brownfield enhancements and see great leverage in applying the concept further worldwide. TVCM is an ideal opportunity to launch our VetcoGray SemStar5 subsea electronics module, which offers our customers an ultra-reliable, leading edge and fully structured product. We are delighted to be working with StatoilHydro on this project and at the opportunity to jointly showcase new subsea expertise.”

The scope of the contract will be executed under the Subsea Production Systems (SPS) frame agreement previously awarded to GE Oil & Gas by StatoilHydro in autumn 2007.

StatoilHydro’s Tordis and Vigdis oilfields are located in the North Sea, west of Norway on about 200m water depth.