D&C News

Jackup delivered to China Oilfield Services

Keppel FELS delivered the new jackup COSLSTRIKE to China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) ahead of schedule and with a clean safety record. It is the third of three KFELS B Class jackup rigs commissioned by Awilco Offshore ASA prior to COSL’s acquisition. The first two rigs were delivered in December 2006 and January 2008. COSLSTRIKE is capable of operating in water depths up 400 ft and drilling depth of up to 30,000 ft.

The new COSLSTRIKE jackup.

NOV M/D Totco and Louisiana State University (LSU) unveiled the physical drilling model for NOV’s IndustryConnect program during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in May. NOV M/D Totco contributed two RigSense systems and financial assistance to develop the drilling model, a fully functional small-scale rig, at LSU’s Petroleum Engineering Research Technology Transfer Laboratory (PERTT Lab). The IndustryConnect program was created in 2008 as a bridge between NOV and various university petroleum engineering departments. The drill model will provide students and faculty with state-of-the-art technology and allow them to be challenged through hands-on experience, paving the way for future research and innovation.

ENAGAS has awarded KCA DEUTAG a land drilling contract worth in excess of US $25 million for its 2,000-hp rig T-46. It includes the execution of 11 wells as part of the construction of the Underground Natural Gas Storage Project in YELA, Guadalajara. T-46 will be mobilised to the area in June 2009, and the drilling of the wells will take approximately two years.

Separately, KCA DEUTAG spud its first well for RAK Petroleum Al Khaleej in the East Sajaa field in Sharjah, UAE, in April. The mobilization and start-up of the 3,000-hp rig T-79 was carried out with zero incidents.

The Ocean America has been returned to service after
undergoing inspections and customer-planned modifications.

Signal International recently completed and returned to service two Diamond Offshore rigs, the Ocean Titan and the Ocean America. The LeTourneau Class 64 jackup, Ocean Titan, entered Signal’s East Pascagoula, Miss., yard for modifications and repairs on 6 March 2009 and departed on 14 April 2009.

Meanwhile, the eight-column semisubmersible Ocean America spent 97 days on dry dock at Port Arthur, Texas, undergoing periodic inspection procedures and customer-planned modifications.

In addition to ensuring compliance with ABS Special survey requirements for both rigs, upgrades and modifications to the Ocean Titan included installation of an extension to the BOP control system house, fabrication of two new life boat platforms and replacement of 500 ft of leg jet piping and hangers.

Repairs and modifications to the Ocean America included tank cleaning; contain, blast and paint columns, deck box, tubular supports and derrick; removal and reinstallation of anchor chain for inspection; sacrificial anode installation and replacement of the drilling mud treatment system.

Petrobras announced that the drilling of another well in the Tupi area reinforces estimates of the potential for 5 to 8 billion barrels of recoverable light oil and natural gas in the pre-salt reservoirs of that area, in ultra-deep Santos Basin waters. The well is still being drilled in search of deeper objectives. The new well, called 4-BRSA-711-RJS, is located 33 km northeast of the pioneering I-RJS-628 well. The well is located in the Tupi Assessment Plan area, in waters where the depth is 2,210 m from the water line.

Separately, Petrobras has acquired from Chariot Oil and Gas a 50% interest in Block 2714A offshore southern Namibia. The block covers an area of approximately 5,500 sq km in water depths ranging from 150 m to 1,500 m, located an average of 80 km from the coast.

Noble Drilling Corp was the winner in the Safety Award for Excellence (SAFE) drilling contractor category, presented by the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) on 7 May. SAFE recognizes companies for outstanding safety and pollution prevention performance. The selection criteria consist of inspection and incident data and input from MMS offices. This is the third consecutive year that Noble Drilling has won the SAFE Award. Winners in other categories are: Danos & Curole Marine Contractors (production contractor), Devon Energy (high-activity operator), and Noble Energy (moderate-activity operator).

Diamond Offshore Drilling’s bid to purchase the newbuild 10,000-ft, dynamically positioned semisubmersible PetroRig I has been accepted by Jurong Shipyard. The purchase was expected to close on or about 25 June.

EMS Energy has completed and handed over the US$17 million Mobile Modular Workover Unit (MMWU-1), which will operate offshore Vietnam, to Vietsovpetro. The first of its design, the MMWU-1 facilitates swift installation and mobilisation for efficient re-working and repairing of oils wells. Its modular design offers considerable time-savings. Driven by three Caterpillar generators, the 750-hp MMWU-1 has a hook load of 200 tons.

ENSCO 8500, the first of seven new ultra-deepwater semisubmersible drilling rigs in the ENSCO 8500 Series, has commenced operations in the Gulf of Mexico under a four-year contract with Anadarko and Eni. Additionally, ENSCO International has taken delivery of ENSCO 8501, the second of the series. The rig will soon commence an expected 50-day mobilization to the US Gulf of Mexico, where it will undergo deepwater sea trials and final outfitting prior to its three and a half year term drilling contract with a subsidiary of Nexen and Noble Energy. Drilling operations are expected to commence in mid-October 2009.

Sevan Marine and Premier Oil have entered into a firm contract for the continued provision and operation of the FPSO Sevan Voyageur for the development of the Shelley field in the central UK North Sea. The Sevan Voyageur is already moored on the field, and hook-up of the field subsea facilities is expected to take place mid-2009 to enable production start-up.

Odfjell Invest has reached an understanding with Petrobras for the provision of the sixth-generation semi Deepsea Stavanger. The contract is scheduled to commence when the unit arrives in Brazil in September 2010. Delivery from South Korea is scheduled for June 2010. The contract will have a fixed duration of three years. Petrobras also has the option to contract Deepsea Metro I and Deepsea Metro II, both under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea.

The workover rig for Remedial Offshore’s first self-propelled jackup Elevating Support Vessel (ESV unit) rigged up at the ARS yard in Houston in May. The rig was engineered, built and monogrammed per API 4F and 8C and AISC allowable stress design (9th Ed.). Static and dynamic loads were analyzed for workover activities and with the rig stored on the ESV deck during in-field moves or ocean tows.

Once functional testing is complete, the rig will be shipped to Asia to be integrated with the Remedial ESV Solution, the first ESV well intervention unit. The crown block is approximately 180 ft (55 m) above ground.

The workover rig is shown atop
the vessel’s cantilever beams.

Helix Energy Solutions Group’s multi-service vessel, the Q4000, has finished a 21-day deepwater drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico, in support of a Methane Hydrates Joint Industry Program (JIP) with Chevron as operator. In April and May 2009, the Q4000 drilled seven deepwater slimbore wells in Walker Ridge, Green Canyon and Alaminos Canyon in water depths ranging from 4,800 ft to 6,600 ft. Four wells found high concentrations of hydrate in porous, permeable sands. Two found low concentrations of hydrate in promising sands. One found promising sand but no hydrate. The Q4000 crew conducted 8 ½-in. open-hole drilling and real-time logging-while-drilling (LWD).

The Q4000 drilling deck.

Rowan Companies subsidiary, LeTourneau Technologies has entered into a contract to provide the rig kit, license and certain technical consultancy assistance to PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard J/S Company for the construction of a newbuild LeTourneau Super 116E jackup rig with 377 ft of leg. PetroVietnam will construct the Super 116E jackup for Vietnam Oil & Gas Group in Vung Tau City, Vietnam.  LTI’s contract, valued at approximately $40 million, provides key rig kit equipment, including the leg components, elevating system, controls, spud can materials, cantilever skidding system and hold-down structures. LTI will deliver the rig kit equipment in stages commencing in Q4 2009.