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Coast Guard certifies jack-up rigs Endeavour arrives at Cosmopolitan prospect for Buccaneer; Spartan 151 is free to depart Port Graham for Kitchen Lights for Furie Eric Lidji For Petroleum News
After spending five months in Homer, the Endeavour jack-up drilling rig is finally on site at the offshore Cosmopolitan prospect, Buccaneer Energy Ltd. recently announced.
The U.S. Coast Guard verified on March 29 that it had examined the drilling rig in Homer earlier in the week, and issued a Coast Guard Certificate of Compliance.
With the certification, the rig left Homer around 8:30 a.m. on March 29 and arrived at the prospect off of the coast of Anchor Point the following day, according to Buccaneer. The company said the legs of the unit have been jacked-down in about 84 feet of water, and the rig has been jacked-up to an operating height of 45 feet above mean sea level.
The Coast Guard also certificated the Spartan 151 rig docked in Port Graham. That jack-up will spend the season drilling at the Kitchen Lights unit for Furie Operating Alaska.
A certificate of compliance is issued for all mobile offshore drilling units operating offshore, Jay Jerome, a Coast Guard Sector Anchorage marine inspector, said in a statement. An inspection for compliance is a thorough review of the vessel and crew to ensure their safety while operating offshore. The examinations verify documentation, safety equipment and machinery installations and witness fire and abandon ship drills.
Inspections remain Before it can begin drilling, the Endeavour must still be inspected and certified by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to make sure it can function as intended.
The AOGCC staff recently visited the rig, and provided Buccaneer with a list of items to be addressed by the inspection, according to AOGCC Chair Cathy Foerster. For the onsite inspection, the AOGCC will check equipment and witness performance tests on the rig.
Buccaneer must also get Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation approval of its oil spill contingency plan before it can begin exploring for oil. Buccaneer said it expects to get approval by mid-April, and spud the Cosmopolitan No. 1 well soon after.
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