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Rowan Secures Contract for “Rowan Resolute” Drillship. Sells “Rowan Paris” Rig
The U.S. based drilling contractor Rowan Companies has entered into a three-year contract with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.
The drillship is expected to be delivered at the end of the second quarter 2014 and operate in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico starting in the late third quarter 2014. The Rowan Resolute is one of four ultra-deepwater drillships being constructed for Rowan by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (“HHI”) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
With the award of this contract for the Rowan Resolute, two of the Company’s four ultra-deepwater drillships under construction at HHI are now under contract. The remaining two uncontracted drillships are scheduled to be delivered from the shipyard at the end of October 2014 and March 2015.
Rowan, in its fleet status report, said that the day rate for the contract is in the high $600.000s.
Rig contract in Indonesia
Also, the company has informed it has secured a 170 day contract with Pertamina Hulu Energi for Gorilla II rig in Indonesia at a day rate in the high $160s (above previous day rate in the mid $130s) expected to commence operation in September 2013.
Further in the report for June 2013, Rowan said it has sold the Rowan Paris rig for $40 million in June 2013.
Offshore Energy Today Staff, June 20, 2013
Fairmount Delivers La Muralla IV Rig from South Korea to Mexico
Tug Fairmount Glacier has delivered rig La Muralla IV in Bay of Campeche, Mexico. The rig has been towed from Okpo, South Korea, via Sunda Strait and Cape of Good Hope.
La Muralla IV is a brand new semi-submersible drilling rig for ultra deep water operations, owned by Mexican Grupo R. The rig is constructed by Deawoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea. La Muralla IV is designed to drill up to depths of 10.000 meters. The rig has a length of 118,6 meters and a width of 96,7 meters.
Fairmount Marine’s Fairmount Glacier hooked-up with the rig at the end of October last year offshore the port of Okpo, South Korea. The convoy sailed via Sunda Strait en Cape of Good Hope towards the Gulf of Mexico, where it arrived at the end of February after covering a distance of over 16,200 miles with an average speed of 6,6 knots.
During the voyage bunker stops were made in Singapore, Mauritius, Walvis Bay and Curacao. At Mauritius the Fairmount Glacier performed several runs between the port and the La Muralla IV to transfer cargo and crew.
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First Subsea Invests in Test Rig for Mooring Connectors (UK)
Subsea mooring connector (SMC) specialist, First Subsea has invested over £200,000 in new mooring connector test rig facilities at its production site in Lancaster, UK.
The test-rig is being used in the manufacture of ‘next generation’ SMCs for industry leading, deepwater mooring projects: the Jack & St Malo field’s semi-submersible platform and Lucius field’s Spar moorings, both in the Gulf of Mexico.
The SMC test rig is used for proof load and Minimum Breaking Load (MBL) testing up to 2,600mT (25,497 kN).
‘Next Generation’ Mooring Connectors
First Subsea leads the world in research into large scale steel forgings. In collaboration with the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Microstructural and Mechanical Process Engineering (IMMPETUS), the company has systematically improved the performance of its mooring connectors. The metals forging research is now being applied to the manufacture of the company’s latest Ballgrab Series III male connectors – the largest produced so far with an un-corroded 2,599mT (25,491kN) MBL, and compliant with the ABS Mooring Guide 2009.
“This is a significant investment that will ensure our Ballgrab subsea mooring connector continues to set the standard for deepwater moorings,” says John Shaw, managing director, First Subsea Ltd.
First Subsea Invests in Test Rig for Mooring Connectors (UK)| Offshore Energy Today.
McDermott Lands Two Rig Repair Contracts (Mexico)
McDermott International, Inc. has been awarded contracts to refurbish and undertake rig repair work at the McDermott Altamira fabrication facility in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
The two jack-up rigs are the Friede & Goldman L-780 Mod II design and will undergo significant improvement work to re-instate them to ABS classification. This will include steel hull, piping, machinery, and electrical renewal, as well as blasting, painting and commissioning support. Work is scheduled to begin in the last quarter of 2012.
McDermott’s Altamira fabrication facility offers an ideal location to accommodate rigs and semi-submersible hulls with its expansive 1,640-foot quayside, water depth of 41 feet and less than three nautical miles tow distance to the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
McDermott Lands Two Rig Repair Contracts (Mexico)| Offshore Energy Today.
Norway: Lundin to Drill 12 Wells with Island Innovator Rig
Marine Accurate Well ASA – MARACC has signed a 12 well drilling Contract with Lundin Norway AS for the semi-submersible drilling rig Island Innovator
The contract is expected to provide Island Innovator with minimum of two years of drilling operations offshore Norway with commencement in the 2nd quarter of 2013 plus options for 3×4 additional wells.
The value of the initial contract period is expected to be around USD 370 million including mobilization and moving the rig to Norway. Maracc is scheduled to take delivery of its new build semisubmersible drilling and heavy well intervention rig in the 3rd quarter 2012 from the Cosco Shipyard Group in Nantong, China.
The rig will be operated by Odfjell Drilling AS.
Simen Lieungh, CEO of Odfjell Drilling said “The operation of Island Innovator will be an important contribution to Odfjell Drilling’s activity on the Norwegian continental shelf. The contract between the owner Maracc and Lundin Norway AS will mean greater predictability for Odfjell Drilling and our operations in Norway. We will need around 170 employees to operate the rig.
The construction of Island Innovator is being completed at Cosco Shipyard, Qidong in China. Odfjell Drilling has mobilised a follow-up team at the yard that will ensure progress and the quality of the remaining work. The rig will fly the Norwegian flag and will have an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AOC) for mobile installations from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway.
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- Norway: Statoil, Aker Solutions Enter USD 1.9 bln Cat B Well Intervention Deal (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Seadrill Orders Harsh Environment Rig in South Korea (mb50.wordpress.com)
- USA: Statoil Extends Maersk Developer Contract for GoM Work (mb50.wordpress.com)
Seadrill Orders Harsh Environment Rig in South Korea
Seadrill, one of the world’s largest drilling contractors, has ordered a new harsh environment semi-submersible drilling rig from Hyundai Samho Shipyard in South Korea. The company explained the move by the current strong demand for high specification drilling units and Seadrill’s wish to benefit from such market conditions.
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.
It will be of a Moss CS60 design, N class compliant and will be able 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. The rig is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter 2014.
Total estimated project costs is less than US$650 million including a turn key yard contract with a back-end loaded payment structure. In addition, Seadrill has agreed a fixed price option for one further unit from the yard. Seadrill has already received charter interest in the firm unit. With the strong demand Seadrill feels it is likely that the option will be exercised. However, a final decision will not be taken before August 2012.
Seadrill’s construction program now totals 18 units, including 6 drillships, 2 harsh environment semi-submersibles, 5 tender rigs and 5 jack ups. In addition to the rigs under construction, Seadrill also controls several fixed price options at various yards.
Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer in Seadrill Management AS says in a comment: “Based on the enquiries we receive from the major oil and gas companies and the current high oil prices, we are comfortable that the aggregate demand for modern floaters will exceed the supply of available units for several years to come. We are pleased that the good relationships Seadrill and the Fredriksen group have with the top quality yards have allowed us to get access to attractive delivery slots at competitive terms. With an expected strong cash flow from our solid contract backlog we are well positioned to secure attractive financing for our new building program. As a result we remain positive to the prospects of continuing to show higher growth and deliver better operational and financial performance than our peers in an industry that looks very attractive for the years to come.”
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Atwood Osprey Rig Stays with Chevron in Australia Until 2017
Chevron Australia Pty Ltd has decided to extend the contract for the semisubmersible rig Atwood Osprey for three more years
The Atwood Osprey, owned by the international drilling contractor Atwood Oceanics, started its first three year drilling services contract with Chevron on May 27, 2011 for operations offshore Australia inclusive of the Greater Gorgon field development project. With this contract extension, the Atwood Osprey is now committed through May 2017.
The operating day rate for the initial three year period remains unchanged. The operating day rate at the start of the extension period is estimated to be approximately $470,000, exclusive of the total cost escalation adjustments which occur during the initial term and will be additive to the operating day rate during the extension period. The contract provisions during the extension period provide for continued annual cost escalation adjustments, enhanced rig equipment maintenance and repair time allowances, and other adjustments to the initial contract’s terms and conditions.
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Norway: Statoil, Aker Solutions Enter USD 1.9 bln Cat B Well Intervention Deal
Statoil is awarding Aker Solutions a contract today for hiring of an entirely new type of rig which represents an important technological advance for the industry. The category B rig will be an important contribution towards increasing recovery from existing fields.
Development of technology for increasing the recovery from operating fields is an area of commitment for Statoil. For the last year, the average oil recovery rate from Statoil operated fields has risen from 49 percent to 50 percent.
The category B rig is designed and equipped for the industrialisation of drilling and intervention services in existing production wells and represent a new sort of service.
“This will be a very important part of the toolbox for increased recovery on the Norwegian continental shelf, making it possible to produce oil and gas that otherwise would be lost,” says Statoil executive vice president of Technology, Projects and Drilling, Margareth Øvrum. “The category B rig is the result of long-term, targeted technology development to increase subsea well recovery rates.”
In cooperation with the supplier industry, Statoil has developed a new type of rig and well control system specially adapted to carry out well intervention and drilling operations in existing subsea wells.
This type of rig fills the gap between light intervention vessels (category A) and conventional rigs (category C). The category B rig with associated integrated services is expected to reduce operating costs for well intervention by as much as 40%.
New technology
The category B design with integrated services is based on Aker Solutions own studies with a background in Statoil specifications. The rig type is designed for year-round well service in Statoil-operated activities.
The category B design provides the option for a number of different types of well interventions using wireline and coiled tubing operations.
This type of rig is also designed to carry out sidetrack drilling from production tubing (through tubing drilling – TTD) in a manner that allows simultaneous production from both the new sidetrack and existing production tubing. The well services are conducted through existing subsea Christmas trees.
This is an important piece of Statoil’s rig strategy, which is based on fit-for-purpose vessels and rigs for various operations.
The key to maintaining the current production level on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) is increased recovery from existing fields, along with the development of new fields. Increasing drilling activity on mature fields is important in order to achieve the NCS’ full potential.
“New and improved well service methods provide a substantial contribution to increased recovery on the NCS. Statoil currently operates around 500 subsea wells, and we need efficient tools to maintain these. Collaboration between many licences has been a precondition for establishing a long-term work programme. We therefore thank our licence partners for enabling us to realise the category B service together,” says Ivar Aasheim, senior vice president of field development in Statoil.
Statoil and the licensees will enter into an eight-year contract with options for three times two years for the category B service. The estimated value of the contract is USD 1.9 billion. In addition to rig rental, the contract also includes rental of the necessary equipment and services to carry out well intervention, sidetrack drilling, ROV operations, well testing and cementing. The rig will be in service during 2015.
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