Norway’s Statoil is tendering for at least two new drilling rigs as it seeks more effective and standardised newbuilds to work on Norway’s maturing oil fields, the firm said.

Shipbuilders Samsung Heavy, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Yourong are pre-qualified for bidding for the construction of the rigs, which will be awarded in the third quarter, said Statoil.

The state-owned firm said rigs currently in operation off Norway are too old and needed to be more effective as more drilling would be required in the years to come. 

“Discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) are getting smaller and it is becoming more important to increase drilling activity in mature fields to attain the full potential of the NCS,” it said.

“To meet this challenge, lower rig rates, greater drilling efficiency and access to rigs are key factors.”

The oil production of the world’s fifth-largest exporter peaked in 2001 and has been declining ever since. Norwegian authorities are pushing oil companies to boost oil recovery from the country’s maturing fields.