Spartan 151 jack-up drilling rig arrives safety in Port Graham

The only jack-up rig in Cook Inlet is now in hibernation for the winter.

Furie Operating Alaska LLC, formerly Escopeta Oil Co., brought the Spartan 151 into Port Graham on Thanksgiving Day, according to Furie Strategic Officer Steve Sutherlin.

The rig will spend the winter getting light maintenance and repairs at the ice-free Cook Inlet port on the southern Kenai Peninsula before heading back out sometime next spring.

Furie used the rig this summer and early autumn to drill the first half of Kitchen Lights Unit No. 1, an offshore exploration well in the upper Cook Inlet. The company suspended operations at 8,805 feet on Oct. 28, but plans to drill to a total depth of about 16,500 feet.

—Eric Lidji