ATP Oil & Gas Defers Payment On Hull

NEW YORK (AP) — ATP Oil & Gas Corp., an oil and gas producer, said Friday it will defer $99 million in construction costs for a ship's hull.

The ship, called the Octobuoy, will serve as a floating production and drilling site at ATP's Cheviot field in the North Sea near the U.K. The hull, or frame of the ship, helps the ship move.

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. said it amended its agreement with COSCO Nantong Shipyard Ltd. The deferral will be supported by a letter of insurance issued by the China Export and Credit Insurance Corp.

The deferral will help ATP get the boat, which is 65 percent complete, by 2011 and be on pace for first oil at Cheviot in 2012.

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