The Chiles Discovery was christened in March at a ceremony in Singapore.
Chiles jackup debut
Chiles Offshore's Chiles Discovery has reached completion at the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore. The ultra-premium jackup has the same drilling depth and water depth capabilities as its harsh-environment counterparts, with a cantilevered drilling structure and substructure that allow the unit to drill or workover wells on existing fixed production platforms. The new rig is perfectly suited for drilling for deep gas on the continental shelf.
Work barge becomes pipelay barge
Allseas is converting its multi-purpose work barge, Tog Mor, into a shallow-water pipelay barge for a project that begins in May. The first job entails laying two, 1.5 km, 30-in. pipelines and a mid-line tie-in on the second Interconnector Pipeline Project in the Irish Sea. The barge will accommodate 112 people and will be able to lay up to 60-in pipe.
Rosneft fleet gets a facelift
Russia's Rosneft, with four jackups and a number of supply vessels in its 40-vessel fleet, plans to modernize its current holdings and add Arctic-class drilling rigs and supply vessels to its fleet. Rig specifications have not yet been released.
see image at right:Rowan's new Super Gorilla class jackup, Rowan Gorilla Vll, is ready to go to work. The jackup is designed to operate in 400 ft water depth in the ultra-harsh environments of the North Sea, Eastern Canada, Argentina, and Austalia's Bass Strait. The jackup is rated to 550 ft in less harsh regions. The Rowan Gorilla Vll's unique cantilever extnds 75 ft and can reach 100 ft with optional extensions. At full extension with the rotary table 100 ft. aft of transom, the rig can support drilling loads up to 2,180 kips. The jackup is designed for exploration and development drilling, production platform operations, and simultaneous drilling and production.
Rosneft subsidiary Far East Marine Company is creating a newbuild/modernization program to carry out the upgrades. The Far East Marine Company is the primary operator offshore Sakhalin on Russia's east coast.
Three supply/utility boats for Edison Chouest
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc announced that the company has signed a contract with Edison Chouest Offshore to build three 145-ft supply/utility boats.
The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP)launched the Japanese riser vessel Chikyu in mid-January. The Chikyu will be outfitted with a drilling system, a laboratory stack, and other facilities at the MHI Nagasaki Shipyard. Sea and drilling trials will follow. The vessel will be made available to the IODP in 2006 or 2007. (Photo courtesy of IODP)
The vessels will meet new US regulatory standards. Each vessel will be 145 ft-long with a 36-ft beam and maximum draft of 11.5 ft. Normal operating draft will be 8 ft.
The engines for all three vessels feature a package that meets new International Maritime Organization emission standards. Each of the new Chouest vessels will be equipped with four liquid mud tanks and two methanol tanks. Their 95-ft by 32-ft aft decks will be able to carry up to 437 tons of cargo.
The first vessel will be delivered this summer, followed by the second in October and the third in December.
Self-erecting tender gets upgrade
Smedvig self-erecting tender rig T-4 is working under a drilling contract for Unocal Thailand until mid-December. When that contract concludes, the rig is scheduled for four months of extensive upgrading and a classification survey before beginning its next contract, for Unocal Thailand, in April 2003.
This upgrade represents a major improvement of the T-4's capabilities and includes widening the barge and installing new, heavy-lift cranes and a new derrick for off-line activities. The cost of upgrades to the rig is estimated at $21 million.
ProSafe FPSO onstream
ProSafe announced that its newbuild floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel Espoir Ivoirien successfully completed production testing and began ordinary production in early March. The Espoir Field is located offshore Côte d'Ivoire and is operated by Ranger Oil Côte d'Ivoire SARL, a subsidiary of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Partners are Petroci Holding and Tullow Côte d'Ivoire Limited.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. hosted a first-oil ceremony to celebrate this milestone, which took place on schedule and on budget.
The Espoir Ivoirien will produce on a fixed 10-year contract with 10, one-year options thereafter.
