The world’s largest jack-up rig, Maersk Intrepid, has been named at a ceremony at the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore.
The ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig has been christened by the wife of Martin Tiffen (MD of Total E&P Norge), Karen Tiffen.
Maersk Intrepid is the first of four ultra-harsh environment jack-up rigs ordered by Maersk Drilling as part of a huge investment programme that also includes four ultra-deepwater drillships.
The total investment for the four jack-ups is around $2.6billion and the first three are due for delivery by Keppel FELS this year and next.
The final unit will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in two years (April 2016).
Maersk Intrepid is due to start its career on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, working on a four-year firm contract with Total, carrying out development drilling on the Martin Linge field development in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The contract is worth around $550million.
Marking the occasion, Claus Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling, said: “With the naming of the Maersk Intrepid, we are opening a new chapter in Maersk Drilling’s Norwegian history.
“We have invested in the Maersk Intrepid and its three sister rigs in order to continue to grow and leverage our market leading position in Norway.
Maersk has a track record of investment in high grade jack-ups. This new class is fitted with 206.8m (678ft) legs and is designed to work in water depths to 150m.
The drill package comprises:
- Drawworks type: National Oilwell Varco SSGD-5750
- Drawworks HP 5,750
- Mud pumps type National Oilwell Varco 14-P-220 Triplex
- Top-drive National Oilwell Varco HPS-1000
- Hook-load capacity (lbs) 2,100,000
It will be capable of delivering wells to 12,192m (40,000ft).
Key features include a fully remotely operated dual pipe handling system known as “multi-machine control”, so enabling the possibility of all operations such as stand building and tripping to be conducted without personnel.
While one drill-string string is working in the well bore, a second string of, for example, casing, drill pipe or bottom-hole assembly can be assembled/disassembled and stored in the set-back area, ready for subsequent transfer for use in the well bore thus reducing the non-productive time.