Judy Maksoud • Houston
Pride International's newbuild semisubmersible Pride Rio de Janeiro left Portland Harbor in early March to undergo two weeks of sea trials in the Caribbean Sea. Following initial trials, the rig headed further south for drilling sea trials offshore Brazil, where it will likely go on contract.
The Pride Rio de Janeiro is a dynamically positioned semi with a depth capability of 1,700 m of water. The rig is a sister ship to the Pride Carlos Walter and the Pride Brazil, but has a slightly greater drilling depth capability.
Bollinger delivers an OSV
Louisiana's Bollinger Shipyards Inc. delivered the third of four 207-ft supply boats to Tidewater Inc. The Jonathan Rozier is a Bollinger-designed 220-class offshore support vessel (OSV). The fourth vessel, Bourgeois Tide, was scheduled for delivery in April 2004.
The Jonathan Rozier is 207 ft long, 53 ft wide, and 19 ft deep. The OSV has a light draft of 6.5 ft and a loaded draft of 16.2 ft. The vessel's cargo deck has a clear area of 5,808 sq ft and is capable of carrying 1,380 long tons. Liquid mud capacity is 6,223 bbl, and bulk capacity is 6,000 cu ft.
Bollinger's new OSV is named in memory of 1st Lt. Jonathan Rozier, who was killed July 19, 2003, outside of Baghdad, Iraq. Rozier was the grandson of deceased Gwen Phillips, former Tidewater employee.
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According to Bollinger, the company's 220 class OSVs are designed to provide greater cargo capacities, more versatility, more options, and lower operating costs than larger vessels.
The company has also added a new OSV design to its offerings. The first newbuild of this design, the 191-ft M/V Cheramie Botruc 38 has the larger cargo carrying capacity of larger vessels without the added equipment, operational, and maintenance costs, Bollinger said.
In addition to being 191 ft in overall length, the new boats will each have a beam of 46-ft and a 15-ft depth. The vessel will be powered by two Cummins KTA50-M2 diesel engines. Eight other Cummins diesels will power two service generators, two generator drives, an emergency generator, bow thruster, and pump systems.
The design was developed in cooperation with operator L & M Bo-Truc Rental Inc., which signed contracts for two of the new OSVs.
The first hull was launched Feb. 6, 2004, with delivery of the first boat, Cheramie Botruc 38 planned for June. The second vessel, Cheramie Botruc 39 will follow in September.
New joint venture to build jackup
SembCorp Marine Ltd. subsidiary Sembawang Shipyard Pte. Ltd. has established a single-purpose joint venture company with Skeie Group AS subsidiary Deep Drilling 1 Pte Ltd. The new company, Kristiansand Drilling Pte Ltd., has an engineering, procurement, and construction contract with PPL Shipyard Pte. Ltd. to build a Baker Marine Pacific Class 375 Deep Drilling Offshore Jackup for $110 million.
The jackup will be built in the PPL Shipyard. During construction, the jackup will be owned by Kristiansand. To date, PPL Shipyard has built 25 jackups and three semisubmersibles. It recently delivered the first deepwater jackup drilling rig to GlobalSanteFe International with a second jackup drilling rig due for delivery in 1Q 2004.
Incorporated in the design of the rig is the Baker Marine proprietary jacking system designed to withstand storms without the use of a rack chock system. The rig is also equipped to drill high-pressure and high-temperature wells of more than 30,000 ft.
Construction was to begin in 2Q 2004, with a construction period of 24 months. Delivery is scheduled for 1Q 2006. When completed, the ultra-deep jackup will be capable of operating in 375-ft water depth and drilling depths to 30,000 ft.
Keppel FELS stays busy
Keppel FELS Ltd. has contracted with an Ensco International Inc. subsidiary to build a KFELS B class jackup rig.
The Ensco 107 is a high-performance premium jackup that will be delivered late in 2005. According to Keppel, the rig is a repeat order of "Bigfoot," the Ensco 106, which the yard is currently building, with completion scheduled for year-end.
Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd.'s Keppel Singmarine will build four anchor handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels for Europe-based Groupe Bourbon and four harbor tugs for Keppel Smit Towage.
Deliveries of the eight vessels are scheduled progressively between 3Q 2004 and 1Q 2006.
Meanwhile, Keppel O&M's US yard, AmFELS, won a contract to upgrade the Ensco 68 jackup. Scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2004, the rig will be converted from a slot to cantilever jackup rig, with leg extension and capability enhancement.
