Re Contract

ABB Ltd
12 November 2002

ABB wins US$ 80 million order for North Sea oil platform

Two modules to increase oil production and start export of gas to be installed

Zurich, Switzerland, November 12, 2002 - ABB, the leading power and automation
technology group, said today it has won a three-year, US$ 80 million contract
from Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian oil company.

Under the terms of the agreement, ABB will design, construct and install two
large modules on the Visund oil platform in the North Sea - one containing
equipment to increase gas injection rate and raise oil production, the other to
allow gas exports from the platform, which is located 120 kilometers off the
west coast of Norway. ABB will also provide project management.

'This is another signal of growing customer confidence in our technology and
experience in this field,' said Erik Fougner, senior vice president and head of
ABB's Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals division. 'Building big modules with complex
modifications offshore has become one of our specialities.'

Work on the order starts immediately and is due to be completed in 2005 when the
two modules, weighing 670 and 300 tons, are installed on the Visund platform.
ABB built the platform for Norsk Hydro in 1999.

ABB's Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals division has won a number of large orders in
recent months. They include a US$ 987 million contract to develop oil and gas in
the Russian Far East, and one for a US$ 180 million gas subsea system in the
Barents Sea.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable
utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering
environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in more than 100
countries and employs about 146,000 people worldwide.



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