Varco Drilling Services Awards Silvertech Systems, Inc. Projects XLI and XLII

Silvertech Systems Inc. , based in Houston, a leading supplier of high integrity control and safety systems, was awarded two orders from Varco Drilling Services (formally Shaffer) for the supply of Blow Out Preventer (BOP) Control Systems for two ultra harsh environment Jack Up rigs, which are currently under construction by HHI in Ulsan , Korea . The rigs designated XL1 & XL2 will be owned and Operated by Maersk Contractors of Denmark. Initially operating in the North Sea , the rigs are designed for worldwide operation.

Graham Whyte, Business Development Manager of Silvertech Systems Inc. said, “our expertise and long term relationship with Shaffer were instrumental in winning this award.”

In a change to previous Shaffer projects, Silvertech will supply the Siemens S7 range PLCs in a fail safe and fault tolerant configuration. The full scope order includes Project management, design engineering, PLC programming with Siemens Step 7 software, Wonderware HMI configuration, manufacturing, test and commissioning. The system panels are designed for operation in a hazardous area and will be certified under the European ATEX rules. The complete system will be designed to meet the requirements of IEC61508 to SIL level 3 and in addition will be subject to a Det Norsk Veritas (DNV) Design Verification Report (DVR) to Drill N.

Delivery of the first system is scheduled for November of 2001.