The search for oil and gas reserves is going into deeper and deeper waters, due largely to improvements in knowledge, equipment and techniques.

Dolphin Drilling has become involved in a deepwater project offshore India for the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the sub continent's largest oil and gas company. On Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003, a significant stage was reached in the ongoing development of oil and gas reserves from the deepwater province off the coast of India. At 13.35 hrs local time, the Belford Dolphin drillship successfully spudded exploration well GKDW-A-A, at a depth of 6,048 ft (1,844 m) in the Gulf of Kutch, approximately 112 miles (180 km) off the west coast of India.

This ultradeepwater well is the first of 47 wells planned by ONGC in a deepwater drilling campaign, which they have called Sagar Samriddhi. This campaign is scheduled to last for 3 years and is unique - it is recognized as the biggest ever deepwater exploration effort by a single operator and, as such, is one of the most significant ultradeepwater projects currently being undertaken today anywhere in the world.

The wells in the Sagar Samriddhi campaign will be drilled off both the east and west coasts of India and ONGC is planning to invest over three quarter of a million dollards per day in this program.

ONGC is aiming to produce over 30 million tonnes of oil equivalent per year from deepwater provinces by 2012-13, an amount equal to the current Indian domestic production rate from onshore and shallow waters. To achieve this target, ONGC has established multi-disciplinary teams, which will be carrying out geological and geophysical studies to identify the best locations to drill the wells for optimum results. The teams will also be studying the latest developments in deepwater drilling and production technologies. For the last two decades, ONGC has been acquiring knowledge from its survey and offshore drilling activities and from significant discoveries in the 1980s and 1990s. It is to this existing database that ONGC will continually add new knowledge and experience gained from their work in the deepwater province.

And it is the knowledge and experience of Fred Olsen Energy ASA, and its daughter company Dolphin Drilling that has resulted in its Belford Dolphin drillship being one of three vessels to be contracted by ONGC for the Sagar Samriddhi project.

The Belford Dolphin is one of the most advanced deepwater vessels in existence and is equipped to work in water depths of up to 10,000 ft (3,000 m). This state of the art drillship has been specially designed, equipped and crewed for the most demanding technical operations associated with deepwater drilling work. Built by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea and delivered in 2000, the vessel is designed to withstand the "100 year" wave conditions in the North Atlantic. The vessel is 672-ft (204-m) long and has an operating displacement of 6,500 tonnes at its operating draft of 41 ft (12.5 m). Fixed pitch propellers with variable speed motors provide a transit speed of approximately 10 knots. In accordance with DP Class 3 regulations, the vessel is equipped with the highest rated dynamic positioning system available. This DP system consists of three azimuthing thrusters forward and two azimuthing thrusters aft, capable of keeping the vessel on location even in harsh operating conditions.

The unique hull was designed specifically to support drilling operations. The vessel's three moonpools reduce the effect of wave movement compared to conventional hulls enabling it to perform more like a semisubmersible rig. The center moonpool is used for drilling and marine riser operations with an accessible working area of 31 ft by 76 ft (9.45 by 23.17 m). Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations are carried out from the forward moonpool with an accessible working area of 16 ft by 16 ft (4.87 m by 4.87 m) and there is an aft moonpool measuring 31 ft by 23 ft (9.45 by 7.01 m).

Carrying

Capable of carrying more than three times the deckload of a typical semisubmersible, the vessel has a large storage capacity for well consumables including tubulars and drillpipe. The high specification automated drilling derrick is equipped with a main 6900 horsepower active heave compensated drawworks as well as an auxiliary drawworks which allows a considerable amount of activity to be carried out off line from the main drilling function, including build up of bottomhole assemblies (BHA), casing and drill pipe stands. This results in a significant increase in efficiency compared with conventional units. The vessel also has a 15,000 psi subsea blowout preventer and a high volume mud system supported by eight shale shakers.

Bulk storage tanks are integrated into the hull and in addition there is crude oil storage capacity of approximately 80,000 bbl. The fully integrated crude handling system is capable of storing oil during well testing and offloading to shuttle tankers via flexible hose transfer from the vessel's stern.

One hundred and thirty people can be accommodated onboard and the living area contains 65 two-person cabins. Safety features in the event of evacuation include two 80-person lifeboats, two 50-person lifeboats, a 15-person high speed rescue boat and lifejackets and survival equipment for up to 260 personnel.

Speaking onboard the Belford Dolphin at a ceremony to celebrate the successful spudding of the first exploration well in the campaign, Anette S. Olsen, chairman of the board of directors of Fred Olsen Energy ASA, said, "I am delighted with the Belford Dolphin; she is an extraordinary vessel with outstanding capability and just right for this very challenging long term deepwater drilling project."

Another significant aspect of this project is that exploration well GKDW-A-A is being drilled as part of the largest integrated services contract yet to be awarded by ONGC. Indeed, it ranks as one of the largest integrated service contracts to be awarded for deepwater drilling worldwide. Under this full service contract - awarded in August 2003 - Dolphin has responsibility for managing and co-ordinating all aspects of the drilling and logistics activities for ONGC.

By carefully building the right team for the job, and through close co-operation of all involved, the first success of the project was the spudding of the first well 2 months ahead of schedule. Despite the size of the project and the amount of work that had to be undertaken, the team were able to bring the original spud date of February 2004 forward to November 2003, resulting in the well being started less than 4 months from the contract award date.

With extensive experience in deepwater locations around the world, Aberdeen based Norwell is providing well engineering design and project management capability to meet the conditions in which the exploration well will be drilled. In addition to the latest and most sophisticated logging, cementing and well testing equipment currently available, Schlumberger also brings strong local knowledge, developed over many years working in India.

With state of the art equipment greatly enhancing the ease with which complex and challenging projects can be carried out, two companies have made a strong contribution to the logistics service. The Great Eastern Shipping Company has provided two new supply vessels the "Waveney Castle" and "Highland Drummer" both incorporating the most up to date marine designs and built to rigorous North Sea specifications. In addition, United Helicharters is supplying a new Sikorsky S 76C+ class helicopter, which will greatly improve the comfort of crew change flights to the vessel.

An additional trio of firms have brought specialist expertise and services. MI Overseas is supplying drilling fluid services, Geoservices is responsible for mud logging service, and Subsea 7 is providing ROV services.

With this ambitious, long-term project underway, Subir Raha, ONGC chairman and managing director, said, "Sagar Samriddhi represents the future for Indian exploration and production. Globally, experience in developing deepwater blocks has demonstrated that the risks are worthwhile. All of us in ONGC are confident that this venture will bring prosperity for the company and India."