China has made another milestone with the completion of its first domestically made drilling ship that would assist the country in expanding its aquatic drilling sector.
Officially named "Reignwood Opus Tiger 1," the new drilling ship was made by the Shanghai Shipyard of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, a Chinese leader in repairing and shipbuilding under the CSSC, and was financially backed by the Chinese Reignwood Group, an international enterprise in China.
The home-made vessel is China's first drilling ship with all intellectual property rights owned by the country.
No disclosure was made about the amount invested to make the ship, but insiders estimate it to be between $200 million and $300 million yuan.
Lui Shaohua, vice president of Reignwood Group, said that the drilling ship's facilities and machineries met advanced international standards with regards to safety and reliability, energy utilization and cost-efficiency. These features make the ship fit for exploration of gas and oil within locations in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
The drilling ship has a capacity of 45,000 tons and can operate 900 meters underwater. If upgraded, the ship can go even deeper at 1,500 meters underwater and can drill down to 10,000 meters.
The project was first announced in 2013, with an original plan of two drilling ships to be constructed.
According to Liu, the second drilling ship is already under construction.