Offshore staff
HOUSTON -- The Transocean deepwater drillship Discoverer 534has concluded major life-enhancement and upgrading in Singapore, and is en route to its first project, Transocean says.
The upgrade at Singapore's Sembawang Shipyard included hull tank steel replacement, painting of tanks and decks, a 15-year hull-life extension, a new aluminum helideck forward and navigation mast, a new Kongsberg DP system, a dynamic positioning upgrade from DP-1 to DP-2 classification, an extensive overhaul of all six thrusters, and new vessel and power management systems.
Drilling enhancements included a new driller's instrumentation system, iron roughneck, casing-stabbing basket, subsea tree-handling system and dedicated well-test area. Liquid mud storage capacity was increased to accommodate the multiple mud types and volumes required for modern deepwater drilling. The yard also refurbished the mud pits, blowout preventer, lower marine riser package, main engines, and topdrive. The vessel now features a high-capacity Seatrax deck crane, new living quarters, and a central warehouse.
Destined for offshore Pakistan for a one-well contract, theDiscoverer 534 will be drilling the country's 13th offshore exploration well. The well will be Pakistan's second-deepest water depth well at 1,306 m (4,285 ft). The current water depth record offshore Pakistan is held by the Transocean ultra deepwater drillship Deepwater Discovery at 2,713 m (8,901 ft), Transocean says.
Following the well in Pakistan, theDiscoverer 534 will return to India to begin a 30-month plus six-month option contract for exploration drilling and field development using subsea completions. Several of the key upgrades (in particular, the subsea tree handling system, high capacity deck crane and dedicated well test area) were executed in preparation for this contract.
9/11/2007
