NEW VESSELS, RIGS & UPGRADES

Marshall DeLuca
Houston

Fourth deepest fixed platform

Enercon Engineering has been awarded the detailed design and procurement assistance for Elf Exploration's Virgo production platform. The platform will be installed in 1,130 ft water depths on Viosca Knoll 823 in the Gulf of Mexico, making it the fourth deepest fixed platform in the world.

The Virgo structure will be a 4-leg, 12-skirt pile. It will have a 200 MMcf/d of gas and 15,000 b/d of oil condensate capacity. The 4-leg jacket will be suitable for stabbing over two wells and will weigh more than 24,000 tons with legs 60-120 in. diameter. It will also feature 14 conductor slots.

The topsides will consist of a 3-level, 6-leg deck (100 ft by 200 ft each level) suitable for 25,000 ft API self-contained drilling rig. The estimated lift/installation weight of the topsides will be 4,400 tons. Installation is scheduled for the summer of 1999.

Harsh environment jackup order

Keppel FELS has secured a $130 million contract to build a harsh environment jackup rig for Ensco. The rig will be built according to an enhanced KFELS MOD V design with 300-ft water depth capability in harsh environments, and 400 ft in calm environments. The rig will include an advanced high-capacity rack and pinion jacking system and a 70 ft long cantilever. The new jackup will be named the ENSCO 101 and is set for delivery in the January 2000.

Keppel FELS has completed a number of jobs for ENSCO in the past, including the upgrade of the ENSCO 56 and ENSCO 57 300-ft jackups. Currently underway, Keppel is performing repairs and refurbishment on the ENSCO 53 and ENSCO 50 jackups.

Next generation multi-service vessel

Oceaneering will deliver the next generation Ocean Intervention multi-service vessel (MSV) this summer. The vessel is designed to carry out deepwater intervention tasks in support of exploration and production activities. The vessel has an overall length of 243 ft, a beam of 54 ft, draft of 15 ft, and an open deck area of 6,000 sq ft.

There are two moonpools aboard, measuring 18 ft by 18 ft each. One is dedicated to the onboard ROV, and the second is a working moonpool for coring or deployment of subsea hardware. The vessel also features a 90-ton hydraulic deck crane and optional stern mounted "A"-frame for movement of materials on deck and overboard.

Accommodations for 50 persons allow for a marine crew of 12, and 38 project-specific personnel. The MSV engines are rated at 6,400 hp, and the vessel has a 1,200-ton deckload capacity, ideally suited for installation of subsea umbilicals and coiled tubing flowlines. The vessel will be dynamically positioned using two azimuthing stern thrusters and two bow tunnel thrusters. The Ocean Intervention will be ideally suited for installation of coiled line pipe, umbilicals, riser systems, pull-tube systems, pipeline crossings, and pipeline tie-ins.

FSO conversion for Cantarell

The Jurong Shipyard in Singapore currently is converting the 366,643 dwt tanker Juno into an ABS classed floating storage and offloading unit for Modec. The vessel will be renamed Ta'Kuntah and will operate in the Cantarell Field in the Mexican region of the Gulf of Mexico for Pemex (the state oil company of Mexico).

The Ta'Kuntah will be fitted with a Sofec-designed single-point external turret-mooring system of the gooseneck-type configuration. It will have a 2.3 million bbl capacity. The vessel will also feature simultaneous offloading of side and tandem moored tankers, and a complete 100% redundant IGS system installed to ensure that a complete breakdown of one system would not prevent the offloading of the cargo. The vessel will be fitted with two 1,400-kW stern thrusters and midship tanker cargo offloading arms to load to a side-moored tanker.

The vessel has a projected operating life of 15-20 years on-station without returning to a shipyard for drydocking. The Ta'Kuntah will be delivered this month and begin the $15.8 million contract for the Cantarell Field set to expire in July 2000.

New-design drillship

Global Marine has received a deepwater drilling letter-of-intent from BHP Petroleum that will require the construction of a new Glomar 456 Class dynamically-positioned drillship. The new drillship will be an ultra-deepwater rig capable of operating in 12,000 ft of water, and designed for development drilling and extended well testing.

The vessel will originally be outfitted for work in water depths up to 9,000 ft, and will incorporate a unique horizontal/vertical pipe-handling system enabling the ship to simultaneously drill and make-up casing or a bottom-hole-assembly on the rig floor. The design will also include a 130,000-bbl crude oil storage capacity, dual subsea tree handling capability, independent mud and brine systems, and space to install well-testing equipment.

The drillship will be built at Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at a total cost in excess of $300 million. BHP has contracted for the vessel for 30-36 months following delivery, followed by two one-year options. Revenues from the contract are estimated at $186 million. Delivery is set for the fourth quarter 1999, and the drillship will initially operate in the Gulf of Mexico. Global Marine also has an option with Harland & Wolff for a second Glomar 456 drillship for delivery in the first quarter of 2000.

EVA-4000 conversion

Noble Drilling has contracted with Friede Goldman International for the conversion of the Max Smith semisubmersible into a EVA-4000 semisubmersible capable of deepwater drilling. Prefabrication work began in March at the HAM Marine shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The pontoons, columns, and major components for the project will be fabricated at Friede Goldman Newfoundland. The rig is expected to arrive at the shipyard in June with completion slated for the third quarter of 1999. The Max Smith will be the fourth EVA-4000 project currently underway at HAM Marine. It will join the conversions of the Paul Romano, Jim Thompson, and Amos Runner Noble rigs.