French-Canadian yard Davie in Quebec City has been handed its third shipbuilding contract in as many months with a US$145.3 million order to make an offshore construction vessel able to lift 400 tonnes into 3,000-metre depths.

Davie Quebec is now controlled by Norwegian shipyard player Teco and other Nordic interests bent on securing yard capacity through Davie ASA. The Norwegian money means Davie will receive new equipment and heavy lift capacity at its Quebec yard.

Shipbuilding contracts worth US$265 million were secured in February following the Norwegian buy-up. OilGas24 has learned that another deal could be announced Friday at the Norwegian tradeshow NorShipping.

Norway-based sub-sea construction outfit Cecon ASA appears to be the only buyer and is understood to retain options with Davie for three more ships. July 31, 2007 is the first option deadline and therefore seen as the imminent good news.

The three new ships will be delivered in April and August 2008, and then early in April 2009 Cecon.

Meanwhile, a free-trade agreement was signed between Canada and Norway on June 8, 2007, and a government rebate on expenses for ships built in Canadian yards bode well for more foreign investment.

“It’s the first good news from the government in a very long time,” company president, Gilles Gagne, told OilGas24.com.

“It’s good for Canadian yards to develop as other countries do, and hopefully select a good market segment in which we can develop efficiently and produce newbuilds on a regular basis,” he said.

While shipbuilding appears on the rebound, Davie hasn’t built a rig since the early 1980s, although it appears to be bidding on a contract. The company has built over a dozen jack-up rigs.

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