Drilling Unit News

Offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling has taken delivery of its 7th generation Stena Evolution ultra-deepwater drillship from Samsung Heavy Industries.After a decade in the making, Stena Evolution drillship has finally been completed and is ready for its first job.The technologically advanced drillship is capable of operating at water depths of up to 12,000ft (around 3,500 meters) and drilling depths up to 40,000ft (over 12,000 meters).The drilling unit utilizes riser storage in hull to offer extensive deck space with a 24…

ABS and Singapore-based shipyard Seatrium Limited have achieved the assignment of a structural health monitoring notation for a self-elevating drilling unit (SEDU).ADMARINE 686 is the world’s first SEDU to receive the ABS SMART (SHM) Notation, recognizing its ability to monitor and analyze the condition of a range of key structural elements, supporting physics-based analysis and simulation for a holistic structural health assessment and prediction of drilling and maritime assets.Seatrium…

A deteriorated bollard led to a Valaris drillship breaking away and colliding with a bulk carrier in Pascagoula, Miss. last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.On March 12, 2022, the mobile offshore drilling unit Valaris DS-16 was in the process of being reactivated at the ST Engineering Halter Marine and Offshore Shipyard (STEHMO) when it broke away from the dock in strong winds, drifted across the Bayou Casotte channel and collided with the bulk carrier Akti.

A.P. Moller - Maersk will equip its fleet with the HydroPen firefighting system from Viking Life-Saving Equipment.With fires inside containers on fully laden containerships remaining a major security risk for the industry, A.P. Moller - Maersk has opted to adopt HydroPen, which is designed for direct firefighting in stacked shipping containers onboard commercial vessels. The contract represents the single largest HydroPen order for VIKING Life-Saving Equipment - and will see systems delivered for the entire fleet of A.P.

The region could be a key growth market for the oil and gas industry going forward, writes Joshua Belo-Osagie, Maritime Strategies International (MSI).Improving sentiment surrounds energy market prospects offshore West Africa, the positive mood underpinned by higher oil prices, reformed regulatory frameworks in key markets including Angola and Nigeria and the discovery of major prospects off the Ivory Coast and Namibia.In addition, the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have only reinforced some of these pre-existing dynamics…

International Maritime Industries (IMI), which describes itself as the largest shipyard in the MENA region, and offshore construction firm Lamprell on Tuesday announced the successful completion of the load-out and float-off of the first jackup drilling unit being constructed for IMI.The jack-up rig will now undergo intensive mechanical completion and commissioning before being transferred to IMI’s yard in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, for final commissioning before going on a contract…

A Valaris drillship hit the Akti bulk carrier ship on Saturday, after breaking free its moorings near the VT Halter Shipyards and Chevron docks in Pascagoula,  Mississippi. At around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Coast Guard Sector Mobile watchstanders received a report from the National Response Center of a collision between two vessels. Per the Coast Guard, Valaris' a 752-foot drillship, reportedly broke free of its moorings due to high winds and collided with the Akti bulk carrier. According to photos shared by the Coast Guard…

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean on Wednesday released its quarterly offshore drilling rig fleet status report, which shows one contract terminated in Norway, and several new deals secured Norway, U.S. Gulf, Brazil, Angola, Brunei, and, possibly, Myanmar. The rig owner's total backlog is now around $7.3 billion.While some of the contracts were already announced as they were coming in during the quarter, Transocean shared some new information, too.It said Thursday that the Hungarian oil firm MOL had in July terminated the Transocean Barents semi-sub drilling contract for convenience. The drilling rig was supposed to stay with MOL between May and December 2021…

South Korean shipbuilding giant Samsung Heavy Industries must pay $411 million to offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling, a London arbitration tribunal has ruled.The spat between the two companies began after Stena Drilling in 2017 terminated the order for the construction of the harsh environment semi-submersible drilling rig Stena Midmax.Stena Drilling had ordered the rig in June 2013, with the delivery expected in March 2016. Citing excessive delay, Stena Drilling on June 1, 2017, terminated the rig order.

Oil and gas companies Equinor and ConocoPhillips on Friday received approvals for drilling of offshore wells in the North Sea, and the Norwegian Sea, respectively.Equinor has been given a regulatory approval from the oil and gas safety body PSA Norway to drill a sidetrack in an exploration well 35/11-24 in the North Sea, at the Swisher prospect.The well 35/11-24 B will be drilled in the water depth of 356 meters. Equinor will use Seadrill’s 2008-built West Hercules semi-submersible drilling rig. The drilling is expected to take 63 days to complete.The drilling of the Swisher follows a recent success by Equinor at the Atlantis well, using the same rig, also in the North Sea.

Valaris, the world's largest offshore drilling company by fleet size, is set to lose one of the most lucrative contracts in the offshore drilling industry today after it recently accidentally dropped a blowout preventer stack to seabed offshore Angola.The contract, at a day rate of $620,000 per day, is with the French oil major Total for the drillship Valaris DS-8. The Samsung GF12000 designed drilling rig has been drilling for Total since 2015.As previously reported, Valaris earlier in March said it had accidentally dropped Blowout Preventer Stack to the seafloor of Angola, while the rig was moving between well locations. It then warned the customer might seek to terminate the contract as a result of the incident.In an update on Thursday…

The globally exclusive HydroPen distributor and leading safety solutions expert, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment, has announced the signing of a fleetwide contract with a major global container shipping operator to integrate the HydroPen System for container firefighting. Beyond the revolutionary system developed by Rosenby Engineering, the scope of supply also includes MED approved mobile water monitors, providing a further boost to the operators’ onboard fire safety setup.Closing the container safety gapWith the deal…

Neptune Energy Norge AS has hired the newly built Beacon Atlantic semi-submersible drilling rig for up to 16 wells offshore Norway.The oil and gas producer said in a press release that it has chartered the rig from China’s rig builder CIMC Raffles, and the rig will be managed by the Norwegian offshore drilling specialist Odfjell Drilling.The commencement of the drilling operations is expected to be in Q4 2019 and the estimated duration of the firm program is 400 days. CIMC Raffles and Odfjell Drilling are further establishing a project team at the shipyard to prepare and mobilize for the operations in the North Sea.CIMC Raffles and Odfjell…

London-based offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has bought a second newbuild Gusto MSC CJ46 design jack-up rig from the Singapore shipyard PaxOcean Group for $83.75 million. Like the Noble Johnny Whitstine, which the UK offshore driller purchased in September 2018 in connection with a Saudi Aramco contract, the newbuild CJ46 design jackup, to be named the Noble Joe Knight, was built at the PaxOcean Graha shipyard in Batam, Indonesia.The rig is built for operations in moderate drilling environments and is capable of operating in water depths of up to 375 feet, with well depths of 30,000 feet. Enhanced drilling capabilities are supported by a modern drilling control system…

ABS has announced it has issued the managed pressure drilling notation ABS MPD to Seadrill for the ABS-classed West Capricorn, a 6th generation ultra-deep water semi-submersible operating in the Gulf of Mexico.This notation demonstrates system compliance with the ABS Guide for Classification and Certification of Managed Pressure Drilling Systems (MPD Guide).Seadrill’s West Capricorn is the first Column Stabilized Drilling Unit to receive the ABS MPD notation complete with the Maltese Cross, which denotes survey attendance throughout the process, from vendor fabrication to on-board installation.“As the industry drills in more complex…

DNV GL announced it has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with shipyard China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd (CMHI) for the classification of two multi-activity jack-up units at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.Ordered by OOS Energy B.V., which is affiliated with Netherlands-based Overdulve Offshore Services (OOS) International, these 96 m long units will be purpose-built for the decommissioning market. Construction is scheduled to start later this year.The two identical four-legged…

Odfjell Drilling announced that Aker BP has today awarded Odfjell Drilling a 2 year firm drilling contract with 1+1 year optional periods. The day rates for the drilling contract will be based on market terms to be determined prior to commencement of drilling operations. In addition to the market linked day rate, a performance bonus as agreed in the alliance agreement with Aker BP, as announced on 21 November 2017, will apply. The contract has a minimum value of USD 245 million, subject to certain adjustments. The commencement of drilling operations is expected in Q2/Q3 2019. For the purpose of the drilling contract with Aker BP, Odfjell…

Offshore driller Stena Drilling has signed a contract with Nexen Petroleum U.K. Limited for the Stena Spey drilling rig.    Stena said  in a press release that the drilling campaign will last around 110 days with a potential additional option well on the Golden Eagle field, UK Central North Sea.   The drilling campaign will commence on completion of the current well with Repsol-Sinopec.   "Stena Drilling is very pleased to be working with Nexen Petroleum U.K. Limited and this workscope presents another exciting new opportunity for the Stena Spey and the crews," said a statement.   The Stena Spey is a Friede & Goldman L907 (enhanced Pacesetter) twin pontoon, column stabilised self propelled, semi submersible offshore drilling unit.

Lamprell announced the completion of construction on the jackup drilling rig, “Al Gharbia”, and its delivery to Abu Dhabi’s National Drilling Company (‘NDC’). Completion and delivery of the jackup rig, on time and on budget, was marked at an inauguration ceremony held at Lamprell’s Hamriyah facility in the UAE on 22 December. The rig will depart the facility in late December en route to its drilling location in Abu Dhabi. The contract for the NDC “Al Gharbia” rig was signed in November 2014 and this is the seventh rig in a series of nine rigs being built and delivered by Lamprell to NDC. All nine rigs have been designed according to the Cameron LeTourneau Super 116E (Enhanced) Class design. The remaining two rigs are proceeding on schedule and will be delivered as planned in 2017. Mr.

Lamprell (ticker: LAM), a provider of diversified engineering and contracting services to the energy industry, announced the completion of construction on the jackup drilling rig, Al Gharbia, and its delivery to Abu Dhabi’s National Drilling Company (NDC). Completion and delivery of the jackup rig, on time and on budget, was marked at an inauguration ceremony held at Lamprell’s Hamriyah facility in the UAE on 22 December. The rig will depart the facility in late December en route to its drilling location in Abu Dhabi.

St. CMS operates a range of marine simulation equipment that covers a broad range of marine and offshore activities. Much of the equipment is highly specialized and unique including fully motion capable simulators. The center also provides technical management and support of simulation equipment that is used by other parts of the Marine Institute. CMS simulation activities can be divided into three main areas; Training, Industrial Response, and Applied Research. To support these…

Lamprell announced the completion of construction of Al Lulu, the final jackup drilling rig in a series of nine delivered to Abu Dhabi’s National Drilling Company (NDC). The contract for the NDC Al Lulu rig was awarded in April 2015, one of only three rig orders awarded that year. All nine rigs have been designed according to the Cameron LeTourneau Super 116E (Enhanced) Class design and were completed to the highest standards of quality using the latest in drilling system technology, the builder said.

Demand for offshore rig rental globally is starting to recover from its worst ever downturn, led by oil firms' growing demand for harsh-environment exploration and triggering multi-billion dollar tie-ups among drillers hoping to profit, executives said. While the 2014-2016 oil price crash caused firms to cut exploration budgets, ending a boom in rig demand and bankrupting many owners, energy companies are now seeking to replenish their hydrocarbon reserves. The nascent demand for harsh-environment rigs…