STAVANGER, NORWAY - 15 Mar 2007: Aker Kvaerner and IBM (NYSE: IBM) have established an alliance for Condition Based Maintenance of oil and gas plants. Condition Based Maintenance reduces plant downtime for ongoing maintenance to the minimum by means of a heightened monitoring system.

The agreement integrates Aker Kvaerner’s competence in engineering, planning and maintenance with IBM’s expertise in data acquisition, integration and analysis. The initial focus will be on installations in the North Sea and onshore in Norway, with long term plans to expand internationally.