Mittelplatte rig ready

Offshore staff

Bentec Drilling & Oilfield Systems completed the new 2,500-hp T-150 rig for the Mittelplatte drilling/production platform offshore northern Germany, according to the manufacturer. RWE-Dea, the operator, will demobilize the platform's existing rig derrick, allowing the operator to install the rig, multiphase pumps, and additional electrical equipment.

Mittelplatte provides around 60% of Germany's oil production. The T-150 rig will allow RWE-Dea to raise production through a new program of long-reach wells. The rig will be capable of drilling to 25,000-ft TD. Bentec will equip the 1.1 million-pound hookload derrick with a 2,500-hp drawworks, mechanized pipehandling systems, and a top drive delivering 63,000-lb continuous torque. It will also install three 2,200-hp mud pumps, rated to 7,500 psi.

Bentec's parent company, KCA Deutag, has announced various new offshore contracts. In the North Sea, it has won a five-year platform drilling and maintenance services contract for the Britannia platform, with options for two, two-year extensions. BP notified KCA Deutag of its intention to negotiate a three-year extension of another contract covering six platforms.

In the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, a subsidiary company Rig Design Services has a letter of intent from Agip KCO to perform front-end engineering design services for two cantilever barge rigs for Tranche 3 of the Kashagan field development. The company will design the rigs for drilling operations in the sector's shallow waters. Each rig will include a steel barge, 100 m long by 75 m wide, containing all drilling equipment, marine equipment, and living quarters. The operator can skid the cantilevered drilling equipment set along the well row at the end of an artificial island, which provides access to numerous development wells.

5/23/05