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Buccaneer relocates Endeavour jack-up Rig at Southern Cross in Cook Inlet; settling of legs caused by scouring requires late September move of rig from initial location Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Buccaneer Energy Ltd. said Sept. 24 that it was relocating the Endeavour jack-up drilling rig some 450 feet southeast of the initial location at the Southern Cross unit in Southcentral Alaska’s Cook Inlet due to scouring which caused some settling of the rig’s legs.
The Endeavour was moved to Southern Cross in early September to drill the Southern Cross Unit No. 1 well following completion of the Cosmopolitan No. 1 well.
Buccaneer said installation of the 30-inch diverter and well control equipment on the conductor pipe had been completed at the original drilling site when “some settling of the rig’s legs into the seabed was noted.”
The rig was then leveled and side scan sonar used to evaluate seabed conditions. Buccaneer said “evidence of movement of sand behind and around the bottom of the rig legs was observed which is also called ‘scouring,’” sand movement the company attributed to “the strong currents during incoming and outgoing tides.” The company said the original drilling location had been surveyed and was approved by various state agencies prior to movement of the rig, and added “the current issue is not uncommon in shallow offshore drilling.”
Divers mobilized Buccaneer said the new drilling location has been surveyed using sonar and “as an added precaution” drivers were mobilized to sample the seabed to ensure that it would be suitable.
The required state agencies have approved the new location, the company said, and tugs were being mobilized to move the Endeavor, a move expected to take place on or around Sept. 29.
“Once the rig is at the new location, a new conductor pipe will need to be driven and preparations will be made to commence drilling operations,” Buccaneer said.
Buccaneer is 100 percent working interest owner at Southern Cross, but in August it executed a farm-out agreement with Los Angeles-based EOS-Petro Inc. The deal allows EOS to earn a 50 percent working interest by paying 100 percent of the cost of the first two wells at the unit.
Kenai Offshore Venture LLC, a joint venture between Buccaneer and Ezion Holdings, and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, owns Endeavour, which was brought to Cook Inlet last year and began drilling at Cosmopolitan in May.
Buccaneer is the operator of the Cosmopolitan prospect and holds a 25 percent working interest in the leases there, with BlueCrest Energy Inc. holding the majority stake.
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