SEADRAGON, a new oil servicing company, has said that it plans to build deep-sea rigs worth $1.5 billion (£822 million) on Teesside and seek an initial public offering (IPO) within a year.

The company is hoping to exploit a booming oil exploration market by supplying rigs capable of working in the most hostile environments. It has raised financing to purchase a rig hull from the Sevmash shipyard in Russia. This hull will be outfitted on Teesside — bringing oil industry work back to the area for the first time in a decade.

The hull, which costs about $100 million, will be delivered in about a year and be available for charter from 2009.

Seadragon hopes that once it has taken possession of its first rig it will be able to raise the money required to launch a second and third rig, each costing about $500 million.

Seadragon has been set up by its chairman Stephen Baird, a management consultant, and David Eason, chief executive of Tees Alliance Group, the company that will outfit the rigs. They are backed by a group of investors that includes banks and hedge funds.

The yard that will outfit the rigs is near Middlesbrough and has a long history in shipbuilding. It was founded in the 19th century by Lord Furness, but has been in the hands of English Partnership, a Government body, in recent years after failing to win work.

The yard has been bought by Mr Eason’s Teesside Alliance Group and outfitting the rigs should bring up to 600 jobs to the area.

Seadragon will seek an IPO next year that could raise about $150 million, giving the company a market capitalisation of approximately $850 million.

The IPO plans are yet to be finalised, but Mr Baird has raised the possibility of seeking an IPO for individual rigs, with Seadragon becoming their holding company.

This would enable the company to list rigs on the London Stock Exchange, as well as in Oslo, where there is a large oil servicing sector. Mr Baird said that this would reduce volatility from stock market swings.

Mr Baird said: “We have had massive support on Teeside to help make this project happen and we are pleased the work will be done in the UK. We are a new company, but with good backing and we believe we can build a successful business building these rigs.”

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