China’s ZPEB has completed testing on a rig that is due to set sail for Uganda, to work on TotalEnergies’ Tilenga project.
The French company’s local office reported that the ZPEB Rig 1501 had completed an endurance test. It described this as an “important milestone” in the project work.
Testing is required before the rig shipped out for Uganda. Construction and testing of the ZPEB Rig 1501 took place by the Honghua Factory, in Guanghan, in China’s Sichuan Province.
Uganda National Oil Co. (UNOC) said that two rigs were now ready, with the second going to the Kingfisher field.
TotalEnergies EP Uganda’s consultant in China Thierry Vinay said the testing was an important step for the Tilenga project.
“It signifies progress towards the commencement of our drilling activities and subsequent delivery of first oil in Uganda. Thank you to all the teams that have worked tirelessly on building this rig and we look forward to receiving it in Uganda,” he said.
Walk to work
Total described the rig as an innovative 1,500 horsepower walking land rig. It has full integration and automation, with low emissions and is fully soundproof, the company said. It will be able to move from well to well without disconnecting equipment.
© Supplied by TotalEnergies UgandaFurthermore, it only requires a single power cable and fibre optic cable between the rig and the electrical house.
The testing involved putting the rig into operation for 24 hours continuously. Other tests involved rotating the top drive at 160 rpm, tripping two stands up and down, practicing connections, running engines and generators simultaneously. Data was recorded every two hours to ensure the equipment met required standards.
Total awarded a conditional letter of award to various providers in June, including the rig package to ZPEB. In addition to the onshore drilling work, the contract also covers tubular running and fishing services.
The Tilenga work involves development of six fields, which will reach production of 190,000 barrels per day. The plan covers the construction of a central processing facility (CPF) in Buliisa and the drilling of 426 wells, from 31 well pads.
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