Amoco sells Arctic Marine Drilling

July 10, 1997 Amoco Corporation has sold Canadian Marine Drilling (Canmar) to Livingston Marine Co. Ltd., Oakland Shipping Co. Ltd., Richfield Shipping Co. Ltd., Richland Shipping Co. Ltd. and Westland Shipping Co. Ltd., all of Cyprus.
Canmar is the marine drilling and services division of Amoco Canada Petroleum Company. Based in Calgary, Canmar is the world's leading provider of Arctic offshore drilling and marine services contracting, with a fleet of four drilling systems and six support vessels. Amoco Canada announced in January that it was reviewing its ownership. Amoco Canada determined the services Canmar provided were outside its core business and that the assets might be a better strategic fit for another company. "The sale marks another example of Amoco's commitment to aggressive portfolio management," said L. Richard Flury, executive vice president responsible for Amoco's exploration and production business. "We are focusing our global upstream business on those core operations that will serve as the foundation of operational and financial success for many years to come."
During its 20 years of operation, Canmar has drilled 75 % of all off-shore wells in the Canada and U.S. Beaufort Seas and the Chukchi Sea. In addition, Canmar has developed, built and operated a bottom-founded drilling unit capable of working year round in the Arctic and has a preliminary design approved to operate the unit as an early Arctic production facility.