Two units of deep-water semi-submersible drilling rigs from CIMC Raffles to depart for Brazil at same time
On the morning of 25th November, 2013, the naming and delivery ceremony for OOS Gretha and OOS Prometheus was held in Yantai, these two units of semi-submersible drilling rigs was designed and built by CIMC Raffles, which reserves the complete intellectual property, the company said in its press release.
The OOS Gretha is of length overall 137.5meters, beam 81meters, depth(base line to main deck) 39 meters, maximum variable load 7070 tones, can accommodate 618 people, equipped with DP3 system, was classed by ABS. It is the first asymmetric semi-submersible unit without bracing in the world, which reduced the towing resistance and dynamic positioning load, improved the sailing speed greatly and made its average transit speed from about 8 knots to more than 12 knots. Asymmetric pontoon outline with pneumatic de-ballast system is very useful for quick ballast adjustment to suit heavy lifting operation.
The vessel is designed and equipped with 2 sets 1800 tones offshore mast crane which can perform tandem lifting. The improved movement performance can withstand over 22 meters high sea wave. All of the features enable this vessel to serve in West Africa, Brazil, Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea, as well as to meet the quality specification of UK HSE. With being authorized in 12 areas (2 in oversea, and 10 in domestic China), CIMC possessed independent intellectual property rights.
The sister rig OOS Prometheus is of length overall 118m, width 70m, depth 38m, maximum variable load 5000 tones, accommodate of 500 people, max operation depth of 1000m, was classed by ABS. This vessel is equipped with 1 set of 1100 ton deck crane, with clear space 3000 square meters, can supply plenty storage room for large sized offshore equipments.
The two boats were designed and constructed by CIMC Raffles in-house, from basic design, detail design to shop design. CSIC 702 institute and Harbin Engineering University participated into the basic design, for seakeeping test, towing basin test and wind tunnel experiment.
Brazil is rich in oil and gas resources in deep sea, which is the main market for deep-water drilling rigs to operate. At present, over 25% drilling rigs of the world are serving in Brazil. CIMC Raffles delivered two units of deep-water semi-submersible drilling rigs the SS Pantanal and SS Amazonia in October, 2010 and April 2011. Now the SS Pantanal is wildcatting the 14th oil well in Campos basin, and the SS Amazonia, the 4th in Santos basin, both of them serve for Petrobras, and so will these two units rigs OOS Gretha and OOS Prometheus.