China Oilfield Services in Norway drill deal

State owned China Oilfield Services has announced a contract with Norway's Statoil for drilling in the North Sea, despite Beijing's hard feelings over the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo.

The Dec. 9 deal, seen Tuesday on China Oilfield Services' website, calls for one of its drilling rigs to operate in the North Sea for up to five years. It says the newly commissioned rig is to begin drilling next summer.

The long-term impact of Beijing's ire over the prize, awarded to Liu last week in absentia, remains to be seen.

China reacted with fury, suspending trade talks with Norway in retaliation and pressuring foreign nations not to attend the awards ceremony. It has run daily tirades in state media berating the Norwegian Nobel Committee as misguided and inherently opposed to China's development.

Liu is serving an 11-year prison sentence for sedition, after co-authoring a bold appeal for human rights and multiparty democracy known as Charter 08. It is his fourth period of incarceration since 1989.

But business is business.

Statoil, Norway's state oil company, said the deal will help it upgrade its aging rig fleet, enabling it to meet its target of keeping stable production capacity in the North Sea.

"Enhanced recovery from existing fields, quick and efficient development of new fields and an active exploration program are the key to achieving this goal. To implement these measures, it is crucial that the necessary rig capacity is available," it said in a statement on its website.

China Oilfield Services, with shares listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai, is China's biggest provider of offshore service facilities and has operations in North and South America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia and Australia. It is majority owned by China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC, the country's biggest offshore oil company.

China Oilfield Services paid about $2.5 billion to acquire Norwegian offshore oil facilities and vessels company Awilco Offshore ASA in 2008.