Aban Offshore to restart operations of Aban Pearl in Venezuela

Aban Offshore is soon expected to restart drilling on its Venezuelan oil rig, Aban Pearl. 

Aban Pearl, one of Aban Off shore’s  biggest revenue generating rig, a gas platform, earning close to US$ 358,000 or about a Rs10 and a half million a day, sunk off the coast of Venezuela’s Sucre state on 13th May 2010.

Aban Pearl was being operated by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. The gas platform was drilling in the Mariscal Sucre offshore natural gas project. The rig belongs to Aban Singapore which is a subsidiary of Aban Offshore Ltd. and is a semisubmersible rig; meaning comparatively higher depth and thus fetching higher rent. It could drill upto 1,250 feet.

Aban Offshore is currently quoting at Rs 710.75 up by 4.68% from its previous close. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs 716 and low of Rs 688. So far, 1,287,957 shares have been traded on NSE.

Aban Offshore Ltd. is India's largest offshore drilling services provider to oil companies, mainly for ONGC. It is now ventured into international waters as one of its five rigs is doing work for an Iranian oil company. The group has also ventured into construction, offshore and onshore drilling, wind energy and power generation, Information Technology enabled services, hotels and resorts, tea plantations and in marketing.