North Dragon, the first China-made semi-submersible drilling rig capable of operating in the Arctic area completes construction in Yantai yard, Shandong province, on Nov 26. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese leading marine equipment manufacturer CIMC Raffles completed construction of a $550-million deep-water semi-submersible drilling rig named North Dragon in its Yantai yard, Shandong province, on Nov 26.

The rig was built by CIMC Raffles for North Sea Rigs Holding and it is the first China-made semi-submersible drilling rig capable of operating in the Arctic area with temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Adopted GM4-D design, the platform will be able to operate in seawater depths of up to 1,200 meters and drill to a depth of 8,000 meters. With the capability against sea storm, it can work in the North Sea and Barents Sea.

Meanwhile, it is equipped with the National Oilwell Varco (NOV) drilling system which helps improve the drilling efficiency by 15 percent.

"The basic design of North Dragon is completed by Global Maritime and CIMC Raffles, while the detailed design and construction are independently finished by CIMC Raffles. Furthermore, CIMC Raffles owns 80 percent of intellectual properties," said He Changhai, director of CIMC Raffles R&D center.

The North Dragon conducts test operation. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

According a survey from the United States Geological Survey, the North Sea boasts 13 percent of undeveloped petroleum and 30 percent of undeveloped natural gas.

Since 2009, CIMC Raffles has delivered 10 semi-submersible drilling rigs and other five are under construction, two of which will be able to work in the North Sea.