I
nmature oil and gas fields, particularly in theMiddle East, India,
Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and Asia, a specific rig footprint is
often required in order to fit standards set by earlier campaigns.
Themost widely used jack-up design in these regions is the
LeTourneau-116; as a result, matching its specific footprint is an
important factor in any subsequent rig design. The CJ43 drilling
jack-up, based on its predecessors, is amodern replacement for
this design and is a step forward for jack-up drilling rigs used in
thesemature oil and gas fields.
Drilling technology has evolved over the years. The focus
has been on drilling equipment reliability, mechanisation,
partial automation and advancedwell control. However, when
reviewing jack-up technology overall – excluding the drilling
related equipment – a large part of what has been ordered recently
resembles the same design philosophy of 30 - 40 years ago. Using
new technology, amoremodern jack-up design, such as the CJ43,
can deliver operational benefits to owners and operators in terms
of lower Opex and higher operational flexibility.
Anewdesign
The CJ43 is a three-legged cantilever type jack-up drilling rig. The
rig features enhanced capabilities and robustnesswith its design
solutions for everyday operational benefits. It is equippedwith
amodern drilling setup for exploration and field development
drilling. Key jack-up design elements, which are part of every CJ
design, arewell balanced in this rig. Its leg design, leg handling
(including jacking and fixation systems), cantilever reach in
combinationwith hook load capacities and the applied philosophy
of rig survivability in realistic operational and survival modes
represent a newstandard formature oil and gas fields.
Legdesign
The high environmental load capability of the CJ43 stems fromthe
efficient leg design and robust leg-to-hull interface in addition to
the large preload tank capacity embedded in the hull design.
The leg design is composed of twomain structural features:
the three vertical chords and the connecting brace system.
RUTGER BAAN, GUSTOMSC, THE NETHERLANDS, OUTLINES THE
CAPABILITIES OF A NEW DRILLING JACK-UP DESIGN.
FITTING A FOOTPRINT
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