Norway’s Odfjell Drilling has taken delivery of the newbuild Deepsea Aberdeen semisubmersible rig from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea.
The 6th generation, GVA 7500-design unit is the latest addition to Odfjell’s fleet of harsh environment and ultra-deepwater drilling rigs. The semisub is of same design as the Deepsea Atlantic and Deepsea Stavanger rigs.
The Deepsea Aberdeen is now heading on its journey to the UK’s west of Shetland area to start its 7-year, US $1.2 billion contract with BP. Commencement on drilling operations is expected to take place in the latter part of the first quarter of 2015, with the rig to work on the Schiehallion and Loyal fields as part of the Quad 204 redevelopment project.
The delivery took place despite a mishap which saw part of the unit’s blowout preventer (BOP) fall into the water during sea trials at the yard, although no technical fault was found with the rig or equipment. The rig is equipped with two BOPs. The rig was also delayed by an initial six months after partially sinking last year due to water entering into one of its pontoons. It was refloated the following month but added around US $10 million in overall costs.
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