David Paganie • Houston
Keppel delivers semi, jackup, FDPSO
Keppel FELS has delivered the semisubmersibleDevelopment Driller III to Transocean, the jackup Mærsk Resolve to Mærsk Drilling, and the world’s first FDPSO Azurite to Prosafe Production.
DSME shipyard in South Korea delivered the semiDeepsea Atlantic to Odfjell following a 20-month construction period. Photo courtesy of Odfjell.
The semisubmersible drilling rig is built to Keppel’s proprietary DSS 51 design, with Transocean’s dual-activity drilling technology. It can drill wells in up to 2,286 m (7,500 ft) of water, upgradable to 3,048 m (10,000 ft), to 11,430 (37,500 ft) deep, upgradable to 12,192 m (40,000 ft).
The jackup drilling rig is the third of four to be delivered to Mærsk. It can drill high-pressure/high-temperature wells in up to 350 ft (107 m) of water to 30,000 ft (9,144 m) deep.
The FDPSO will be deployed off the Republic of Congo at the Murphy-operated Azurite development in the Mer Profonde Sud block.
The vessel is equipped with a modular drilling package that can be removed and reused elsewhere when the production wells have been drilled. It has storage capacity of 1.4 MMbbl of oil and process capacity of 60,000 b/d of fluid and 40,000 b/d of oil, and will be spread-moored in 1,400 m (4,593 ft) of water.
PETRORIG I set to sail
Sembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard has completed turnkey construction ofPETRORIG I, the first of four semisubmersible drilling rigs for Larsen Oil & Gas. The rig was scheduled to be delivered in March for a five-year charter with Petrobras America in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The semi is a sixth-generation Friede & Goldman Ex-D Millennium Class design equipped with capacity to drill in up to 10,000 ft (3,048 m) of water in DP mode to 37,500 ft (11,430 m) total depth.
Larsen’sPETRORIG II and PETRO-RIG III have secured five-year charters as well, with Petrobras for work offshore Brazil and with Pemex for deployment offshore Mexico, respectively.
Deepsea Atlantic moves to Norway
The semisubmersible drilling rigDeepsea Atlantic has been handed over to Odfjell Invest. The rig will undergo sea trials in Norway before it begins its four-year contract with StatoilHydro in May.
Transocean’s semiDevelopment Driller III is scheduled to work first for BP in the US Gulf of Mexico. Photo courtesy of Transocean and Ken Childress.
Construction of its sister rigDeepsea Stavanger is under way, with delivery scheduled for 2Q 2010. In addition, Odfjell Drilling in cooperation with Metrostar has two drillships under construction in South Korea for delivery in 2011.
Sea Dragon, Vantage enter rig management agreement
Sea Dragon Offshore has issued Vantage Drilling Co. a management agreement for one of its two deepwater semisubmersible drilling rigs, with an option to include the second unit. The rigs are designed to drill in up to 10,000 ft (3,048 m) of water to 30,000 ft (9,144 m) deep.
Pursuant to the management agreement, Vantage will receive fees during the construction phase of the project plus performance-based completion incentives. During the operations phase, Vantage will receive fixed and variable daily fees. Analytics firm Pritchard Capital Partners expects the arrangement could amount to about $5 million/rig/year to Vantage.
Mosvold Drilling and Hercules Offshore have entered into a similar arrangement, according to a Raymond James research report. Mosvold has two newbuild jackups and will pay Hercules a marketing fee once it secures contracts, as well as management fees to run the rigs once they have been delivered, the report says.
James projects Hercules could gross at least $4 million in 2010 from these fees.
Superior Energy adds to fleet
Superior Energy Services has taken delivery of derrick bargeSuperior Pride.
The vessel is 400 ft (122 m) long, 100 ft (30 m) wide, and 32 ft (9.8 m) deep, and features an 880-metric ton (970-ton) Huisman crane, full galley, and accommodations for 360 people.
The barge was delivered to Superior in Xiamen, China, where it was loaded onto the Dockwise submersible shipTrustee for a 30-day voyage to West Africa where it will be employed under a long-term contract.
Mitsubishi, Petrobras to build drillship
Mitsubishi and Petrobras have formed a 50/50 joint venture company that will own a 10,000-ft (3,048-m) rated drillship. The $830-million vessel is scheduled for delivery in June 2010 to an affiliate of Schahin Engenharia for work in Brazil and overseas.
