Semisubmersible Drilling Rig News

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore has won a contract with Woodside in Australia for the platform supply vessel Normand Tortuga.The vessel will support the activities of the DPS-1 semisubmersible drilling rig on the Enfield P&A and Scarborough projects, starting in late Q1/early Q2 2022.During the period of the contract, the Normand Tortuga will be operating from Dampier, Western Australia.The vessel is on a firm 572-day contract, with additional extension options available to Woodside.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) through its subsidiary in Azerbaijan, Caspian Shipyard Company (CSC), is on track to deliver a semisubmersible drilling rig to Caspian Drilling Company Ltd, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). The rig was named Heydar Aliyev at a ceremony in Azerbaijan today by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. Built to Keppel FELS' proprietary DSSTM 38M design, the rig has been customized for the Caspian Sea's harsh environment condition. It is the first modern semisubmersible to be almost completely built in Azerbaijan.

Norwegian firm Statoil ASA is ending its rig contract for the Maersk Gallant six months early. The jack up rig has been on contract with Statoil for two years, since 21 August 2014, and since 9 October it has been sub-chartered to ConocoPhillips. "Between 14 February and 21 August 2016 the Maersk Gallant is on a new contract with Total E&P Norge AS, who will pay cancellation fee according to the former contract," says a press statement from Statoil. In January, Total received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) of Norway, to drill the North Sea exploration well 1/5-5 in PL 618 using Maersk Gallant. The jack-up Gallant was last listed as operating in the North Sea. No information was given on the day rate or other terms for the lease.

Ocean Rig UDW Inc., a global provider of offshore deepwater drilling services, announced  that two of its drilling contracts have been terminated. The Nasdaq-listed drilling affiliate of DryShips said that Total E&P Congo has terminated its long-term charter of the ultra-deepwater drillship Ocean Rig Apollo, which is currently deployed in Congo and will be demobilised “in due course”. As per the contract Ocean Rig is entitled to a termination fee that varies from 50% to 95% of the operating daily rate that will be payable over the balance of the contract. The Ocean Rig Apollo will demobilize from Congo in due course and is available for alternative employment.

COSLProspector, the fourth deep-water semi-submersible drilling rig built by CIMC Raffles for China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL), has been delivered in Yantai, Shandong Province. It represents another milestone for China’s deep-water drilling rig going into the global mainstream market. The COSLProspector is a DP3 vessel with a length of 104.5 m, a width of 70.5 m, a height of 37.55 m, and an operating water depth of 1,500 m. It is able to drill 7,600m deep and has a designed operating temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius.

In July 2014, the CIMC Raffles North Sea semisubmersible drilling rig unit, COSLInnovator, was awarded as "Rig of the Month” again by STATOIL. It is the fifth time that the CIMC Raffles semisubmersible drilling rig unit acquired this accolade after COSLPioneer being awarded as “Rig of the Month” in June.   CIMC Raffles “Rig of the Month” Accolades 1.   COSLPioneer in May 2012 2.   COSLPioneer in Feb. 2013 3.   COSLInnovator in May 2014 4.   COSLPioneer in June 2014 5.   COSLInnovator in July 2014

The award is in recognition of his “outstanding, significant and unique achievements, and extensive contributions” to the offshore industry, and is presented at the Annual OTC Dinner Sunday, May 4. The defining moment of his career came in 1980, as a direct consequence of the tragic accident of the semisubmersible drilling rig, “Alexander Kielland” that cost the lives of 123 workers in severe weather on the Norwegian shelf when it capsized after a column broke off due to fatigue failure of a bracing.

Fairmount Marine, a Rotterdam-based marine contractor for ocean towage and heavy lift transportation, announced that its tugs Fairmount Summit and Fairmount Alpine towed rig ENSCO 5006 more than 13,000 miles from Cyprus to Singapore. Before the departure off Limasol, Cyprus, both Fairmount tugs performed anchor handling work for the rig. On request of its owners cargo and crew runs were done during a stop off Las Palmas and a bunker stop was made at Port Nqgura, South Africa. Transit speeds up to 9 knots were reached during part of the voyage.

Fairmount Marine said it has safely delivered rig ENSCO 5002 in Singapore. The rig was towed from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, via Cape Good Hope, by tug Fairmount Expedition. ENSCO 5002 is a 1975 built 70 meters long and 61 meters wide semisubmersible drilling rig. The rig can accommodate up to 110 persons and is capable to drill up to 10,668 meters. Tug Fairmount Expedition hooked-up with the rig offshore Rio de Janeiro mid-November 2013. The convoy arrived in Singapore this week after a 9,200 miles voyage by an average speed of 5-6 knots.

Six Thrustmaster 5,000 HP (3,700 kW) Azimuth DP3 Thrusters classed by ABS were launched on November 25, 2013 during the OOS Gretha naming ceremony. The Brazil bound semisubmersible drilling rig was built at its ship yard in Yantai, China by CIMC Raffles and is due to work for Petrobras offshore. CIMC Raffles said it is the first asymmetric semisubmersible unit without bracing in the world. This reduces the towing resistance and dynamic positioning load, improving self propelled transit speed from an average 8 knots to more than 12 knots.

President of Azerbaijan, H.E. A new shipbuilding yard that is jointly developed by Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) was officially opened this morning by President of Azerbaijan, H.E. Ilham Aliyev. Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, also attended the inauguration ceremony of the new yard. Named Baku Shipyard LLC (Baku Shipyard), the new 62-ha yard in Baku…

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. (Keppel O&M) through its subsidiaries Caspian Rigbuilders BV (an affiliated company of Keppel FELS) and Caspian Shipyard Company (CSC), has secured a contract from Caspian Drilling Company Ltd., a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), to build a semisubmersible drilling rig, which includes owner furnished equipment, worth about $800 million. Scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2016, the rig will be built to Keppel FELS' proprietary DSSTM 38M design, which has been customised for the Caspian Sea's harsh environment condition. The DSSTM 38M is designed for a drilling depth of up to 40,000ft and operations in 1,000m water depth.

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) announced that it won a $750 million order to build a semisubmersible drilling rig for Diamond Offshore. The drilling rig, measuring 123 meters in length and 96 meters in width, can operate in waters 3,000 meters deep with a drilling range of 12.2 kilometers from the sea’s surface. The rig is scheduled to be delivered by November 2015. english.hhi.co.kr

Cat C280-16 generator sets with an increased power rating have been selected by Jurong Shipyard, to power West Rigel drill rig. The West Rigel is a semisubmersible drilling rig newbuild under construction for North Atlantic Drilling Limited, a subsidiary of Seadrill Limited. Eight C280-16 generator sets, each with rated power of 5,500 ekw (5,730 bkw @ 900 rpm), will be used as the main power for the semisubmersible rig, with two of the generator sets serving as emergency power as well. The C280 has a stellar reputation in the oil and gas industry as a trusted provider of power for decades. The new uprate provides a 12% increase in overall power.

GE’s Power Conversion business signed a multimillion dollar contract with shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of Ulsan, South Korea. GE will supply electric power, propulsion systems and drilling drives for a new semisubmersible drilling platform HHI is building for Seadrill Ltd., which is expected to work in either the North Sea or offshore Canada. The sixth generation semisubmersible, based on a Moss Maritime CS60 design, will be built in accordance with Norwegian regulatory body Det Norske Veritas’ (DNV) dynamic positioning DP3 class—the highest notation in terms of design to withstand specified instances of equipment failure.

To benefit from the current strong demand for high specification drilling units Seadrill announced that it has entered into a turnkey construction contract with Hyundai Samho Shipyard for the construction of a new harsh environment semisubmersible drilling rig. The new rig will be a sister rig of the harsh environment semi-submersible unit Seadrill's subsidiary North Atlantic Drilling currently have under construction at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. The new rig will be of a Moss CS60 design, N class compliant and be fully winterized to meet the harsh and demanding weather conditions in the North Atlantic areas. In addition, the new rig will have premium ultra deepwater capabilities including water depth of up to 10,000 feet.

Nicosia, Cyprus – Ocean Rig UDW Inc., a global provider of offshore deepwater drilling services, announced that it has signed a new drilling contract for its semisubmersible drilling rig Eirik Raude with an independent operator, for work offshore West Africa. The expected total backlog to complete the two-well program is estimated at $ 67.5 million for a period of 84 days. The new contract is expected to commence after the rig completes its scheduled 10-year special survey. The customer has the option to extend the contract for one additional well for an estimated duration of approximately 40 days. Ocean Rig owns and operates nine offshore ultra deepwater drilling units…

Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIG) signed a new drilling contract for its semisubmersible drilling rig “Leiv Eiriksson” with a consortium coordinated by Rig Management Norway for drilling on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. total revenue backlog is estimated at $653 million for a minimum period of 1070 days. The new contract is a well-based contract for 15 wells and will commence in the fourth quarter of 2012 or the first quarter of 2013. The contract includes three options of 6 wells each that have to be exercised well in advance of the expiry of the firm period. George Economou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Rig UDW Inc commented “We are pleased to announce this long-term contract with a strong consortium for work on the Norwegian Continental Shelf…

Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIG) signed a new drilling contract for its semisubmersible drilling rig “Eirik Raude” with an independent operator, for work offshore West Africa. The maximum total revenue backlog, to complete the 3 well  program is estimated at $52 million for a period of 60 days. The new contract will commence in direct continuation after the completion of the existing Eirik Raude contract. The operator has an option to drill one additional well for an estimated duration of 20 days.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) through its subsidiaries, Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd (Keppel Singmarine) and Keppel Verolme BV (Keppel Verolme), has secured contracts totaling S$150 million from international customers. Keppel Singmarine, the specialised shipbuilding division of Keppel O&M, has entered into contracts for the building of a 91-metre container vessel and three 4000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) bulk ore/fuel carriers for Papua New Guinea customer Ok Tedi Mining Limited (Ok Tedi Mining), while Keppel Verolme, Keppel O&M's comprehensive yard in the Netherlands, is undertaking upgrading activities of a semisubmersible drilling rig, Scarabeo 6, for Italian customer Saipem Misr for Petroleu Services S.A.E. (Saipem).

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) is on track to deliver Scarabeo 9, a 6th generation ultra-deepwater semisubmersible drilling rig, to Saipem S.p.A (Saipem) on time and with no lost time incidents. A significant part of Keppel FELS' workscope on Scarabeo 9 involved the completion and commissioning of marine and drilling systems onboard. The rig was named by Lady Sponsor, Mrs Anna Tatka, spouse of Mr Pietro Franco Tali, CEO of Saipem. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Tali said, "With Keppel's proven track record, we were confident of receiving a rig of the highest quality delivered on time and in a safe manner. The Frigstad D90 semisubmersible rig is equipped with a Dynamic Positioning 3 system and will be capable of operating in water depths of up to 3,600 meters.

According to a report from PennEnergy, on April 21, a group of 11 Greenpeace protesters climbed the Leiv Eiriksson semisubmersible drilling rig  to stop its mobilization. The Leiv Eiriksson was slated to depart Turkish waters for a drilling campaign in the Baffin Bay offshore Greenland. Cairn Energy contracted the rig to perform exploration drilling in the Arctic waters offshore Greenland in an ongoing effort to establish the region as a new oil and gas province.   (Source: PennEnergy)

BOEM Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered a keynote address at the International Regulators Forum (IRF) Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. During his visit, Director Bromwich met individually with his counterparts from the offshore regulating agencies from Australia, Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom to discuss issues of mutual interest. “Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today. “I am the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement – the agency responsible for regulating oil and gas exploration and development on the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States. “Let me begin by thanking our Conference host, Canada’s Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, and in particular Mr.