Atwood to build new jackup
Artist's impression of new KFELS mod V enhanced B-class jackup.
Atwood Oceanics Pacific Ltd. has entered into a vessel construction agreement with Keppel FELS Limited to build a KFELS mod V enhanced B-class jackup in Singapore. The cantilevered jackup will be built for 350 ft water depths and will have three 2,200 hp mud pumps and a self-positioning fixation system. The rig is scheduled for completion in June 2003.
Pride rigs upgraded
The jackup Pride Montana was out of service for almost a year, undergoing what amounted to a complete rebuilding of the rig. New living quarters, drilling equipment, engines, and generators were completely rebuilt, as was all of the blowout preventer (BOP) equipment. The rig got a new derrick and waste-treatment facility, new mud treatment equipment, and new high-pressure (HP) piping. It is now contracted for three years to Saudi Aramco.
The Pride North Sea also received a make-over, with rebuilding of all drilling equipment, subsea equipment (including BOPs), engines, and generators. The semisubmersible received new mud treatment equipment, drilling instrumentation, and HP piping. The rig started its first job off Ireland.
The newly upgraded Bintang Kalimantan.
The Bintang Kalimantan underwent a five-year special survey that resulted in upgraded accommodations and drilling instrumentation along with new mud treatment equipment and HP piping. The drilling equipment, BOP equipment, engines, and generators were completely rebuilt. The anchored drilling barge is in West Africa and will go out on a two-year job off Nigeria.
Eirik Raude goes to Halifax
In preparation for fulfilling the contract with PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. for the Eirik Raude to drill offshore the East Coast of Canada, the rig left Friede Goldman's Pasca-goula, Mississippi, yard in mid-July. The unit is now in the Halifax Shipyard in Nova Scotia, where outfitting and commissioning will be completed. The Eirik Raude will also undergo the winterization necessary to operate year-round offshore the East Coast of Canada.
Key employees will be relocated to the Halifax shipyard to continue work on this deepwater drilling rig. PanCanadian advanced $10 million to Ocean Rig to cover the cost of mobilizing the rig to Nova Scotia where the remaining work will be completed by the Halifax Shipyard in accordance with the schedule contemplated under the PanCanadian/ Ocean Rig partnership drilling contract.
FPSO contract awarded
IZAR of Spain was awarded a contract to build a 900,000 bbl floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit for Belgium's Exmar Offshore. The vessel is scheduled for a January 2003 deadline and is intended for operation in the Aquitaine Field in the Mediterranean sea offshore Libya.
Project management and quality assurance systems are in place to ensure the scheduled construction and delivery times, as well as quality requirements and cost control. A health, safety and environmental management system has also been set up to ensure strict policy compliance in these areas as well.
The design is moderate (210.6 meter length, 44 meter breadth, 23 meter depth, and 16.5 meter design draught) in comparison to the FPSO's 900,000 bbl storage capacity and will be the largest-capacity newbuild ever delivered by the Spanish builder.
Diagram for IZAR's newbuild FPSO
In the past 15 years, the company has delivered ten FPSOs, four floating storage units/floating, storage, and offloading (FSU/FSOs), two semisubersibles, a heavy cargo barge, and all three of Transocean Sedco Forex's Discovery-class drillships, the Discoverer Enterprise, Discoverer Spirit, and Discoverer Deep Seas.
