AHTSs for Brazil
FELS Setal SA has laid the keel for the second anchor-handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessel being built for Delba Maritima Navegaçao.
The company received a contract for three AHTSs last December. The three vessels are the first AHTSs to be built in Brazil and will be used by Petrobras to support offshore platforms and FPSOs in the Campos Basin.
The first AHTS was scheduled to begin operations this year.
Upgrades and a newbuild
Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. recently received contracts from repeat customers, including the Ensco 1 jackup. Work on Ensco 1 will be carried out by Keppel FELS (Kfels) in Singapore and involves the construction and installation of an auxiliary support barge onto the drilling unit. The jackup is scheduled for delivery by the end of the year.
A drilling capability upgrade on Ensco 81 will be carried out in Amfels Inc. yard in Brownsville, Texas, and is expected to be completed by January 2003.
In late October, Keppel's yard in Brownsville delivered a Kfels Mod V "B" class ultra premium jackup drilling rig to a subsidiary of Ensco International Inc.
Ultra premium jackup Ensco 105 was delivered in late October.
The Ensco 105 is the second Mod V "B" new generation deep-well drilling rig completed by the yard. The total cost of construction and outfitting the rig exceeded $100 million.
The first Kfels Mod V "B" was the Chiles Discovery, now renamed Ensco 104, built and delivered by Keppel FELS Singapore in March. The jackup is working for Phillips Petroleum Co. in the Bayu-Undan field in the Timor Sea.
The Singapore yard also delivered the Ensco 102 this year.
The Keppel FELS Singapore supported repair efforts for Keppel Offshore & Marine's shipyard, Arab Heavy Industries PJSC (AHI) in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. The UAE facility carried out the repair of the Ekhabi jackup rig. The successful completion of this work allowed AHI to gain entry into the Middle East market.
The rig was working in the Persian Gulf for owner Far East Marine Co.
A second contract quickly followed for major repair work on the Foresight Driller V, owned by Cyprus' Foresight Drilling. Repairs were scheduled for completion by early 3Q 2002.
New FPSO for Erha
Bouygues Offshore announced that it has signed a turnkey contract with Esso Explor-ation and Production Nigeria Ltd. for an FPSO for the Erha field, which lies offshore Nigeria in 1,200-m water depth.
The contract encompasses engineering, procurement, construction, towing, and commissioning of the FPSO, as well as the supply of anchor chains. The FPSO will have a 285-m-long, 63-m-wide, and 32-m-high hull with a storage capacity of 2.2 MMbbl of oil and an initial production capacity of 165,000 b/d.
Engineering and procurement services will be performed in France at Bouygues Offshore's offices in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Hyundai Heavy Industries in Nigeria will supply the hull. Bouygues subsidiary Nissco will fabricate the production modules in Southeast Asia and Nigeria. The FPSO is scheduled to arrive on the Erha field in mid-2005.
Mærsk newbuild moves to North Sea
Mærsk Contractors has been awarded its first contract for the newly constructed ultra harsh environment jackup Mærsk Innovator. The jackup will drill five wells on the Goldeneye field in the UK sector of the North Sea. The rig is rated to work in 492 ft of water and has a rated drilling depth of 30,000 ft. Work is to begin in August 2003.
Dockwise's Mighty Servant I transports the Mærsk Innovator from Korea to the North Sea.
Shell operates block 14/29 and the Goldeneye field with 52.5% interest. ExxonMobil's Esso operating unit holds 39%, Lasmo 4.5%, Paladin 3%, and Veba 1%.
First LPG FPSO to be built
The world's first newbuild liquefied petroleum gas FPSO, slated for operation offshore Angola, has been announced with ABS selected as the classification society of record. The vessel, to be named the Sanha LPG FPSO, will have a daily production capacity of 6,000 cu m and storage capacity of 135,000 cu m.
The Sanha will have LPG storage tanks and LPG production plants, including gas separators, gas refrigerators, and boil-off gas reliquefaction units on the upper deck or topsides.
The vessel will incorporate Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd's. self-supporting, prismatic-shape, IMO type-B (SPB) tank system. The SPB gas containment system is recognized by the industry as particularly effective for liquid gas storage on an FPSO or FSO because of its internal tank stiffening structure and suitability for partial loading.
ABS previously classed the first LPG FSO newbuild, the Escravos, which is also fitted with SPB tanks. The Escravos is on contract for ChevronTexaco offshore Nigeria.
Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and IHI have signed a contract with Single Buoy Mooring Inc. of Monaco for the construction of the Sanha. The vessel is scheduled for completion in mid 2004, with the first product to be shipped the beginning of 2005.
