Seadrill is Relocating to London in 2013

OSLO–Norwegian oil services company Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL.OS) said Monday its management unit Seadrill Management AS will move to London from Stavanger, Norway, in early 2013 with the aim of cutting costs.

In the short term, the general and administrative costs will rise due to one-off costs during the transition, it added.

“All senior management have accepted an offer to move from Stavanger to London during early 2013,” the company said.

The company’s board said one of the main aims of the relocation was to “limit the size of the corporate organization” while strengthening regional competence centers.

“The board anticipates that such an organization will be able to work better with our customers, provide a better service, have tighter control, stimulate operational leadership and offer more dynamic work opportunities for our employees,” Seadrill said.

The board’s decision was contained in the company’s third-quarter report, which showed net profit rose to $189 million, from $58 million in the third quarter last year. Seadrill said fundamentals in the drilling industry are strong across all asset classes due to increasing oil demand and the depletion of mature oil fields.

At 1507 GMT, Seadrill shares were down 1.1% at NOK220.20.

– Kjetil Malkenes Hovland, (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company

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