On May 20, Bentec Drilling & Oilfield Systems GMBH announced its completion of a new 2,500-hp drilling rig for the Mittelplatte drilling and production island.
The Mittelplatte oil field underlies the Waddensee tidelands, off the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, in the German North Sea.
Bentec is a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbot Group PLC. The Mittelplatte consortium includes RWE Dea AG (operator) and Wintershall AG, each holding 50%.
Bentec designed and built the T-150 rig at its facility in Bad Bentheim, Germany, under a €38 million contract. Bentec managing director Uwe Singer told OGJ that it is one of the biggest rigs built by the company to date. The T-150 includes automated pipe-handling systems and a hook-load capacity of 1.1 million lb. The top drive is rated to 63,000 lb continuous torque. There are three 2,200-hp mud pumps rated to 7,500 psi.
Because the tidelands area is environmentally sensitive, the rig was designed for zero discharge, low noise, and reduced emissions.
Dr. Georg Schoning, chairman of Mittelplatte operator RWE, said that in addition to the new drilling rig, the company’s strategic development plan for Mittelplatte includes a pipeline system from the production island to the Dieksand onshore base and upgrading the production facilities.
The rig will be mobilized to Mittelplatte this summer and commissioned by the end of the year.
