Diamond Offshore Drilling has finally decided to rebuild the cold-stacked North Sea veteran rig Ocean Voyager in Singapore at a cost of some $370million.
The semi-submersible is being placed in the hands of the Jurong Shipyard and is scheduled to emerge during Q2 2014 as the Ocean Apex. It will remain a moored semi-submersible but dramatically upgraded to the equivalent of a fourth generation unit, according to Diamond.
The $370million price tag will cover commissioning, spares, and project management, but exclude capitalised interest.
The Victory class rig was built in Norway and originally delivered to Diamond in 1974 as the North Sea boom was gathering pace. It went through a significant upgrade in 1995.
After reconstruction, the rig will be capable of operations in water depths to 1,830m (6,000ft), which is double the current capability.
Apex design specifications also include a variable deck load of 7,000 long tons, a maximum hook-load capacity of two million pounds, a 15K five-ram blowout preventer, crew quarters capacity for 140 personnel, and a deck area among the largest of any semi-submersible rig in the world.
“We continue to see significant opportunities for moored deepwater units, as evidenced by the contract recently awarded to the Ocean Onyx, our other deepwater semi-submersible currently under construction,” said Larry Dickerson, Diamond’s president and CEO.
“This project marks the continuation of Diamond’s ongoing fleet renewal programme, which includes four ultra-deepwater drillships and now two deepwater semis currently on order.”
Dickerson added that, when the Apex is delivered, “We will have a rig that exceeds the specifications of a fourth-generation new-build unit; however, it will have been constructed in approximately half the time and for a significantly lower cost.”