Keppel announces ice-worthy jack-up project with ConocoPhillips
Keppel Offshore & Marine Technology Centre has announced that it and ConocoPhillips are jointly designing an ice-worthy jack-up drilling rig for use in Arctic seas.
Keppel, a Singapore-based shipbuilder and builder of mobile, offshore rigs, says that the new rig will be a “first-of-a-kind” design, suitable for towing in sea ice. The rig will be able to withstand the impacts of multi-year ice floes and ice ridges, as well as withstand sea ice up to a specified thickness, the company says. The rig will have dual cantilevers to optimize drilling operations within short time windows. The design project should be completed by the end of 2013, Keppel says.
“We are glad to partner with ConocoPhillips to jointly design this ice-worthy jack-up rig for the Arctic seas,” said Dr. Foo Kok Seng, director of the Keppel Technology Centre, on Feb. 7. “The features of this jack-up rig make it a cost-effective and promising drilling solution for the Arctic offshore. In leveraging the combined expertise, resources and research findings of Keppel O&M and ConocoPhillips, we believe that this joint project will achieve significant breakthroughs in offshore Arctic drilling.”
—Alan Bailey
January North Slope production about level with December
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 624,058 barrels per day in January, a marginal 0.27 percent month-over-month increase from 622,356 bpd in December.
Production from the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe Bay field averaged 366,728 bpd in January, up 1.8 percent from a December average of 360,275 bpd.
Volumes are from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division which reports oil production only by major production centers.
Lisburne, also operated by BP, and part of greater Prudhoe Bay, averaged 32,542 bpd in January, down 3.4 percent or 1,144 bpd, from a December average of 33,686.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field had the largest month-over-month decline in barrels, down 1,524 bpd. The field averaged 135,062 bpd in January, down 1.12 percent from a December average of 136,586 bpd.
The BP-operated Endicott field had the largest percent drop, down 7.05 percent, averaging 12,209 bpd in January compared to 13,135 bpd in December.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Alpine field averaged 77,517 bpd in January, down 1.47 percent or 1,157 bpd, from a December average of 78,674.
—Kristen Nelson
See stories in Feb. 12 issue, available online to subscribers at 11 a.m., Friday, Feb. 10 at www.PetroleumNews.com
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