Blue Whale 2 to be completed soon

Move is part of effort to enhance energy security and secure available resources

The construction of the ultra-deep-water semisubmersible drilling rig Blue Whale 2, which can mine both combustible ice and oil, will be completed in the second half of this year, according to its manufacturer.

China Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd, the producer of the Blue Whale 1, succeeded in collecting methane gas trapped in ice-like crystals beneath the surface of the South China Sea last week. It said the functions of the Blue Whale 2 will be slightly different from the first model in terms of flammable ice drilling.