Norway’s Songa Drilling AS has awarded Beacon Maritime Inc. a $25-million contract for the reconstruction and enhancement of the independent-leg, self-elevating drill rig,Songa Jupiter.
The jackup is of a Friede & Goldman L-780 design constructed in Sweden in 1981. The enhancements include increasing depth capability to 300 ft, new 96-man accommodations, three mud-pumps, updated semi-automatic drilling package from Maritime Hydraulic, new 7,400 HP Caterpillar power plant, and zero discharge. Delivery is scheduled for 1Q 2006.
New FPSO for Penglai
CNOOC Ltd. and ConocoPhillips China Inc. have signed a contract with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp., for a newbuild FPSO. The 280,000-dwt FPSO vessel hull for the Penglai oil fields is the biggest FPSO hull ever built in China.
The contract covers design, partial procurement, and construction of the FPSO.
The topside modules of the FPSO are being fabricated in Singapore. The topsides, weighing 35,000 tonnes, will have a processing capacity of 190,000 b/d of oil. The FPSO is 310 m long, over 60 m wide, and has a draft of 29 m. Onboard storage capacity is 2 MMbbl.
When completed, the FPSO facility is bound for block 11/05 in Bohai Bay, where COPC and CNOOC Ltd. are carrying out the development of China’s largest offshore oilfield PL19-3.
The Chinese government has officially approved the overall development program for PL 19-3 (Phase II) and PL 25-6. Detailed design, engineering, procurement, and construction are in progress on the second phase of development of the PL oilfield, which is planned to include five wellhead platforms, central processing facilities, and a new FPSO. The first wellhead platform of Phase II will be put into production in the first half of 2007. Production through the new FPSO is expected by the end of 2008.
Bollinger builds mega-mini supply boats
Bollinger Shipyards Inc. and Bordelon Marine Inc. have signed a contract for two mega-mini supply boats.
Bordelon Marine took delivery of three of the Bollinger 145-ft mini supply boats in 2001, expanding the Bordelon fleet to six vessels. Bordelon is now adding two more vessels that are viewed as the future for production, support, and standby requirements in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The new vessels will be 163 ft long with a 36-ft beam. Light draft is 5.4 ft, and maximum draft is 9.7 ft. The vessels have a liquid mud capacity of 51,660 gal. The deck cargo capacity is 391.2 tonnes, on a deck measuring 110 ft by 30 ft.
Bollinger’s Lockport facility will deliver the first vessel in October, with the second vessel following 45 days later.
GlobalSantaFe Corp. has taken delivery of theGSF Development Driller I in Singapore. The ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig, the fourth and last rig in the company’s four-year newbuild program, is to arrive in the Gulf of Mexico this month. The newbuild semi will complete sea trials, and then begin a two-year multi-well exploration and development program for BHP Billiton in July.
GlobalSantaFe took delivery of its other ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig,GSF Development Driller II on Feb. 23. The semi began sea trials in the GoM in late May. GSF Development Driller II will begin a three-year contract with BP on the Atlantis project in July.
ABS provides approval in principle for LNG FPSO concept
In late 1Q, ABS granted approval in principle (AIP) for an LNG and liquefied petroleum gas FPSO unit (Niche LNG FPSO) concept from ABB Lummus Global. The concept is the offshore application and marinization of the Niche LNGSM process, a proprietary dual turbo-expander-based LNG liquefaction scheme developed by ABB Lummus Global.
The equipment layout is similar to a typical FPSO, but the new concept allows for processing facilities onboard that incorporate both gas feed pre-treatment and LNG liquefaction. ABB describes the new concept as primarily a floating liquefaction facility for LNG production, storage, and export. Process facilities are compact enough to fit onto the deck of a 312-m-long Niche LNG FPSO, yet can deliver 1.5 million tonnes per year combined output from three LNG production trains. The design storage capacity is 200,000 cu m.
ABS was uniquely qualified to review this new vessel configuration because it is the only classification society to have experience with the type of liquid gas containment system specified for the Niche LNG FPSO, ABS says.
Robert R. Huebel, general manager of Randall Gas Technologies, a division of ABB Lummus Global, says of the AIP program: “The rigorous program of design documentation reviews conducted by ABS, and its participation in HAZIDs, has validated the Niche LNG FPSO as a safe and environmentally sound concept, fully in compliance with current marine practice, Society rules, and International Standards, and suitable for its intended function, that is, for the monetization of gas reserves (both associated and non-associated) from offshore fields.”
