Both of the two drilling rigs employed by Shell in its Beaufort and Chukchi Seas campaign last summer off Alaska are to be sent to an unspecified yard in Asia (said to be South Korean) for repairs and upgrades.
Shell spokesman Curtis Smith has indicated that the Kulluk drilling barge, which broke free of towing lines and ran aground near Alaska’s Kodiak Island on December 31, is being sent to an Asian yard because the super-major expects to get better service there than at the Seattle shipyard that was originally designated.
“A number of shipyards in Asia have the drydock facilities and capabilities to better execute these types of projects,” Smith said, admitting that the Kulluk sustained flooding damage as a result of the grounding.
The Kulluk was built in 1983 and has drilled a dozen wells in the Beaufort Sea. But it has not drilled a complete well since 1993, and it was laid up for 17 years in the Canadian Arctic. Shell has already spent more than $200million overhauling the unit.
As for the drillship Noble Discoverer, which was also found by the US Coast Guard to have environmental and safety systems deficiencies, this suffered a grounding too, albeit in far less dramatic circumstances.
The decisions seem certain to anger US shipyard trade unionists who traditionally have long memories.
Smith added that no decisions have been made yet regarding the resumption of Shell’s drilling program off Alaska later this year.