Offshore Drilling and Completions
Development of an Ultraharsh-
Environment Jackup Drilling Rig
Drilling with jackups in harsh environ-
ments has moved into deeper water dur-
ing the last 10 years. Before, 300 ft was
the maximum operating water depth, but
now operations are possible in water
depths as great as 500 ft. Several new fea-
tures are available on harsh-environment
jackups that increase drilling efficiency
by as much as 25%. The full-length paper
describes the process of creating the next-
generation deepwater jackup drilling rig
and operational experience with the
Mærsk I-Class rigs.
Design Phase
Mærsk Contractors operate several ultra-
harsh-environment rigs in the North Sea.
On the basis of experience with these rigs,
functional requirements were developed for
the next generation of ultraharsh-environ-
ment jackup rigs. The main focus was to
improve the safety level on board and pro-
vide more value for money to the clients. A
large number of North Sea operators were
consulted to obtain their view of the ideal
rig of the future. More than 650 suggestions
were received from the rig crews in the
existing fleet, more than 450 of which were
incorporated in the final design.
A 1:1 mockup of the drill floor with sim-
ulated work situations was used to gather
input about drill-floor layout. Use of the rigs
in subsea and production mode also was
considered. The MSC-CJ70 was chosen as
the basic design. This included an XY can-
tilever system that provides opportunities to
increase efficiency and introduce improve-
ments on the drill floor.
The Rigs
General/Structural Performance. The rigs
have a 675-ft leg length, with a permanent
This article, written by Assistant
Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains
highlights of paper SPE 92760,
“Development of the Ultimate Ultra
Harsh Environment Jack-up Drilling Rigs,”
by Frederik Smidth, SPE, and Per
Wullf, Mærsk Contractors, prepared for
the 2005 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference,
Amsterdam, 23–25 February.
56
skirted spud can that gives a water-depth
capability as great as 500 ft in the North Sea.
The variable deck load in 500-ft water depth
is 4,000 tonnes. At shallower depths, the
deck load can be as much as 10,000 tonnes,
depending on seabed conditions.
The 120-man accommodation is placed in
a V-shape around the forward leg, with one
side for sleeping quarters and the other side
for offices, mess hall, and recreation rooms.
This gives a very large usable deck area of
26,900 ft2, compared with 16,140 ft2 on rigs
with similar hull sizes. A forklift is used on
the main deck to reduce the number of crane
lifts and improve safety. Below deck, the lay-
out is optimized for safety and working envi-
ronment with two separate engine rooms, a
pipe trunk, and straight escape routes
enabling protected escapes from anywhere
on the rig. All systems used in daily opera-
tions are operated remotely from work sta-
tions throughout the rig.
Cantilever. The I-Class rigs are equipped
with the patented XY cantilever. On a tradi-
tional jackup rig, the cantilever skids longitu-
dinally on the main deck, and a substructure,
carrying the drill floor, skids transversely on
top of the cantilever. This gives a load pattern
that decreases as the cantilever is skidded aft
and to the sides as the well-center position
varies relative to the cantilever main struc-
ture. When skidded all the way to one side
(typically 15 to 20 ft), almost all the load is
taken on one side of the cantilever. A typical
maximum combined drilling load (hook-
load, rotary load, setback, and conductor ten-
sioning) is 680 to 919 tonnes.
The substructure and drill floor are fixed
to the cantilever and form an integrated part
of the XY cantilever structure. The cantilever
is mounted on four skid boxes that enable
skidding in both the longitudinal and trans-
verse directions. The skid boxes skid trans-
versely on two transverse skid beams that
are integrated into the main deck of the rig.
The cantilever itself skids longitudinally on
top of the skid boxes. This enables a very
large skidding envelope (90×60 ft) with no
reduction in the combined capacity when
skidding from side to side. The combined
load capacity is 1,400 tonnes out to 80 ft and
910 tonnes between 80 and 90 ft. The can-
tilever can be extended easily by an extra 10
to 100 ft, with a combined load capacity of
540 tonnes. In addition, the cantilever pipe
deck contains two bays that can hold a full
750-tonne casing string. Casing is lifted
directly from the boat to the cantilever deck,
avoiding double handling.
Blowout-Preventer (BOP) Control. The
BOP contains fiber-optic control systems for
an 183/4-in. 15 NXT stack. The systems
are prepared for a second pod for subsea
use. The system is rated SIL Level 3.
Mud Treatment. The mud-treatment sys-
tem has 6 VSM 300 shakers with automatic
control and remote operation of all valves.
Slurry Systems. There is a fully integrated
slurrification system that can be used for
cuttings reinjection or dumping overboard.
Electrical Switchgear and Control Room.
The cantilever contains a switchgear room
for equipment and control systems for all
drilling equipment. The room considerably
reduced the amount of cabling going to the
cantilever from the hull.
Cellar Deck Area With BOP and
Christmas-Tree Storage. A large cellar deck
is below the drill floor. The cellar deck is a
large “room” with a primary and secondary
moonpool. The primary moonpool is used
for BOP storage and drilling. The bottom is
closed with large hatches, making the room
fully enclosed and protected from the envi-
ronment. Access to the BOP, which has
working platforms at three levels, is by a
gangway. The secondary moonpool, which
also is closed with hatches, is used for well
operations other than drilling such as coiled-
tubing intervention. Additionally, the cellar
deck contains storage and skidding arrange-
ments for Christmas trees and other equip-
ment. Access to the cellar deck is by a
13×16-ft hatch. The room is fully covered
with overhead cranes and a cherry picker for
easy access to the BOP and Christmas trees
during preparation.
Drill Floor. Mechanized drill floors previ-
ously were considered slower than conven-
tional rigs. The goal was to create a safer and
faster rig that complies with the rules and
regulations in Norway by use of the latest
technology in mechanized and automated
drilling equipment. The idea was to remove
APRIL 2005
everything except the block from the critical
path while drilling ahead, tripping, or run-
ning casing.
The drill floor is based around a
46×52×210-ft derrick capable of handling
135-ft stands. The setback area is divided
into two areas: one that holds as much as
30,000 ft of 65/8-in. drillpipe in 135-ft
stands in fixed fingers and another that
holds as much as 18,000 ft of 95/8-in. casing
in 130-ft stands in an adjustable fingerboard
that can handle 5- to 20-in. casing. Total set-
back capacity is 800 tonnes.
The well center is placed asymmetrically
to the aft and port side to optimize the reach
and load distribution in the cantilever.
An area close to the V-door is used for
building bottomhole assemblies (BHAs) and
stands of drillpipe and casing as large as
20 in. in diameter. Mud can be circulated to
test mud motors in that area. This means that
stands of pipe can be built and racked back.
Two parallel column rackers are placed on
the same track, and they both can service
both the well center and the assembly area.
This provides redundancy in pipe handling.
Two interchangeable iron roughnecks with
an integrated mud bucket service the well
APRIL 2005
center and assembly area. A remotely operat-
ed pipe-handling system transfers pipe from
the cantilever pipe deck to the drill floor.
The driller’s cabin includes three work sta-
tions, including two identical locations for
the driller and the assistant driller, so that
backup is available if problems arise at the
driller’s chair. The third work station is dedi-
cated to pipe handling and controls the can-
tilever deck equipment and stand building.
The drawworks, an AC 6,000-hp gear-
driven machine, is outside the drill floor on
top of the hydraulic workshop and consists
of “two halves,” one of which can be
“declutched” so operation can continue in
case of breakdowns.
Performance
Technical Performance. On the basis of the
layout and equipment selection, an estimate
was made of the percentage of time savings
for a number of tasks necessary to drill a
well. The Mærsk Galant, the newest rig in
the fleet, was used as a base line. Only
offline activities were considered. Time-sav-
ings estimates were made for the following.
• Tripping, a 10% time savings.
• Casing running, a 66% savings.
• BOP work/test, a 10% savings
• Mud exchange, a 10% savings.
• BHA exchange, an 80% savings.
• Tubular exchange, an 80% savings.
• Reaming, a 10% savings.
• Completions, a 66% savings.
Operational Experience. The actual per-
formance of the Mærsk Innovator was mea-
sured by a separate team of drilling super-
visors who were tasked with mapping the
overall efficiency of the rig and providing
improvement proposals. Actual results
after 3 months’ operation were as estimat-
ed for mud exchange, tubular exchange,
reaming, and completions. Actual time
savings for tripping was 20%, for casing
running was 75%, for BOP work/test was
60%, and for BHA exchange was 10%.
Most of the targets were met. Additional
experience with the I-Class rigs should
improve these figures. JPT
For a limited time, the full-length paper is
available free to SPE members at
www.spe.org/jpt. The paper has not
been peer reviewed.
57