Drilling & Completion News
KCA DEUTAG wins rig contracts with BP, NAM, HESS
KCA DEUTAG has signed several rig contracts in recent months, including six rigs for BP on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and Shah Deniz fields, one rig for Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV (NAM) for European land drilling, and one rig for HESS Oil France for shale drilling onshore Europe.
The six-rig contract will allow KCA DEUTAG to manage all BP-operated platform drilling assets in the Caspian region. The primary term is for five years, but there is an option to extend the contract by up to five more years. KCA DEUTAG believes this is the world’s largest single platform drilling contract. It covers platform drilling operations and maintenance services on the Central, East and West Azeri, Chirag, Deepwater Gunashli and Shah Deniz platforms.
The contract with NAM is for the T-700 heavy land drilling rig for a duration of seven years – two years firm and five years in options. “This is an innovative new rig that has been designed specifically to operate within the strict regulatory requirements of the European drilling market and is part of the company’s ongoing expansion of its fleet to meet customer demand,” KCA DEUTAG CEO Holger Temmen said. The T-700 is expected to commence drilling in early 2012.
With HESS, the contract is for KCA DEUTAG’s Euro Rig class land drilling rig T-208. The company will provide drilling and related services for shale oil exploration campaign in the Paris Basin permits operated by HESS and its partner Toreador Resources Corp. The deal includes the drilling of six firm wells in the Paris Basin, with two further well options; operations were expected to commence in February 2011.
Keppel to construct 4 newbuild jackups
Keppel FELS has won several contracts in recent months for newbuild KFELS B Class jackups – with Standard Drilling, Asia Offshore Drilling and Jasper Investments.
Standard Drilling, a subsidiary of the Norwegian investment company Ferncliff TIH, ordered a jackup for delivery in the second half of 2012. When completed, the unit will be able to drill in up to 400 ft of water and drill to a depth of 30,000 ft. Standard has options to build two similar jackups.
Two jackups will also be built for Asia Offshore Drilling, a subsidiary of Mermaid Maritime, with options to build another two similar units. The rigs are scheduled for delivery in 2012 and 2013 and will be able to operate in water depths up to 350 ft and drill to 30,000 ft.
An order has also been placed by Jasper for a 400-ft KFELS B Class jackup, with an option for another similar unit. Delivery is slated for the second half of 2012.
Keppel recently finished a 300-meter extension of the pier at its Singapore yard due to increased construction activities. See Q&A with Keppel O&M CEO Chong Heong Tong.
Hyundai to deliver ultra-deepwater drillship to Diamond in 2013
Diamond Offshore Drilling has ordered a new ultra-deepwater drillship to be delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries in late Q2 2013. The turnkey contract includes a fixed-price option for a second drillship. The dynamically positioned drillship will have a seven-ram BOP, dual-activity capability, five mud pumps and a maximum hookload capacity of 1,250 tons. It will be designed for operations in up to 12,000 ft of water.
Pride to build 5th ultra-deepwater drillship with Samsung for 2013
Pride International and Samsung Heavy Industries have reached agreement to construct a fifth ultra-deepwater drillship for delivery in mid-2013. “The long-term outlook for the deepwater drilling sector is expected to remain fundamentally strong,” said Pride president and CEO Louis Raspino.
The new drillship will be designed for water depths up to 12,000 ft, with a vertical drilling depth of 40,000 ft. It will offer a payload in excess of 20,000 metric tons and a 1,250-ton hoisting system. Other features include a dual derrick, offline tubular stand-building and a 160-ton automated heave compensating construction crane to allow for the deployment of subsea production equipment without interfering with drilling. The rig will initially be equipped to drill in up to 10,000 ft of water.
JDC’s Chikyu to drill offshore Sri Lanka
Japan Drilling Co recently signed a contract with Cairn Lanka, a subsidiary of Cairn India, for the deepwater drillship Chikyu to drill three firm wells and two optional wells offshore Sri Lanka beginning in early July 2011.
Seadrill buys jackup, 2 Seadragon semis
Seadrill recently acquired three rigs, including a 375-ft jackup and two ultra-deepwater semisubmersibles. The company also took delivery of its West Juno jackup from Keppel FELS in Singapore.
The 375-ft jackup, to be named West Cressida, was acquired from Petrojack IV. It was delivered from Jurong Shipyard in January 2009 and is operating for PTTEP offshore Thailand under a long-term contract that goes out to Q2 2014.
The company has also acquired the Seadragon I and Seadragon II semis, both under construction at Jurong; deliveries are expected in Q1 2011 and Q4 2011. The Seadragon I has a five-year contract in place, although it is under discussion due to the rig’s postponed delivery.
The semis will be able to drill in up to 10,000 ft of water and have a total vertical drilling depth capacity up to 35,000 ft. They will have a single derrick with dual pipe-handling and offline stand-building capabilities.
The newly delivered West Juno is the ninth jackup added to Seadrill’s jackup fleet since 2008. It is a sister rig to the West Callisto and the sixth KFELS B Class rig to be constructed for Seadrill.
Statoil signs on COSLPioneer for up to 5 years
COSL Drilling Europe, a subsidiary of China Oilfield Services Ltd in Beijing, has been awarded a contract with Statoil for the COSLPioneer for drilling on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for up to five years. Plans call for the semisubmersible rig to be used for both production and exploration drilling.
“This contract is a major recognition of our strategy to build and operate purpose-built rigs for the mid-water segment in Norway,” said Jorgen Arnesen, CEO of COSL Drilling Europe.
The COSLPioneer is the first of three fifth-generation semisubmersibles under construction at CIMC Yantai Raffles shipyard to be finalized. The rig was delivered in late November 2010; it is on its way to Norway for commencement of operations by summer 2011.
The three semis are the first mid-water rigs to be built for the NCS since 2001, according to COSL. COSLInnovator and COSLPromoter, the other two rigs under construction with delivery in 2011 and 2012, already have long-term contracts with Statoil for use on the Troll field.
Noble puts in orders for 2 heavy-duty jackups, 2 ultra-deepwater drillships
Noble has entered into agreements for the construction of two harsh-environment jackups with Jurong Shipyard and two ultra-deepwater drillships with Hyundai Heavy Industries. The Friede & Goldman JU3000N design jackups are scheduled for delivery in Q4 2012 and Q2 2013. They will have the capability to operate in water depths up to 400 ft and to drill to 30,000 ft. The drillships, to be delivered in Q2 and Q4 2013, are based on a Hyundai Gusto P10000 hull design and are designed to operate in waters up to 12,000-ft deep, although either may be outfitted for shallower depths depending on contract requirements.
Xtreme Coil to build COTD rig for horizontal drilling in Bakken
Xtreme Coil has signed a multiyear rig contract and will construct a new Coil Over Top Drive (COTD) rig, scheduled for delivery in Q2 2011. The new XTC 500 rig design is intended for deep horizontal resource plays. It drills with and racks 45-ft joints of drill pipe in double stands to reduce the number of connections. The new rig will be the second XTC 500 unit contracted for the Bakken development of North Dakota.
Talisman extends contract with Odfjell for platform drilling, engineering
Odfjell Drilling has been awarded a contract extension with Talisman Energy UK for platform drilling and engineering for a fixed period of two years and three options of one year. According to Odfjell, Talisman will start up drilling again on the Claymore platform in 2011 and on the Auk platform in 2012.
Additionally, Odfjell was recently awarded a Letter of Intent from Statoil for the Deepsea Bergen semi for development drilling on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
