GustoMSC announced that launched the NG-5500X-LD, the latest in its series of self-propelled jack-up designs, for light drilling and well intervention in numerous mature fields, in the Southern North Sea, Middle East and South East Asia.
The conditions of these fields are characterized by water depths of up to 50 to 80 meters pending the region. Until now, this was the domain of classic drilling jack-ups and tender barges with associated day rates and operational restrictions. With the light drilling cantilever, the NG-5500X-LD bridges the gap between the successful shallow to midwater service units and the full-fledged drilling rigs.
The company explains that the NG-5500X-LD is designed with practical and survival capability. The unit can remain offshore when adverse weather conditions occur, resulting in more workable days, enhancing efficiency and a minimum of non-productive hours during operational charters. The NG-5500X-LD disposes maneuverability (DP2), diagonal pre-loading, fast transit (up to 8 knots) and safety – accuracy when making use of the Variable Frequency Drive controlled jacking system.
The light drilling rig can serve brown field needs, such as Light Drilling, Well Intervention and Plugging and Abandonment. The large clean main deck (approx. 1,200 m2) allows for flexible use, while the cantilever featuring the X-Y Skidding System provides a large drilling envelope of 18.3 m x 7.9 m (60 ft x 26 ft). This envelop ensures access to a majority of brown field platform layouts seen in the Southern North Sea, Middle East Gulf and South East Asia.
In addition, the entire cantilever and drill floor structure is raised above main deck by approximately 3.6 m (12 ft). This allows for improved material handling as a forklift can drive underneath, and thus reduces crane lifts from the PS to the SB side and vice versa. It also provides additional deck space for container storage and, crucially, provides additional means to handle mud return, cuttings and SWARF. With 250 tons of hook load at 60 ft and up to 350 tons (770 kips) at 50 ft the rig can truly perform light drilling operations with a drilling depth of 12,000 ft.
Source & Image credit: GustoMSC