Ranger Oil (U.K.) Ltd. has taken under contract Santa Fe Drilling Co.'s new Universe class jack up rig, Galaxy I, for a drilling program starting this fall in the Central North Sea.
Ranger's contract is with Santa Fe Drilling Co. (North Sea) Ltd., Santa Fe's operating affiliate based in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Built at a cost of about $100 million, Galaxy I represents the largest investment to date for a deepwater jack up, Santa Fe said.
Galaxy I, which Santa Fe calls the world's largest jack up, will be mobilized to the North Sea and delivered to Ranger following its completion. The rig is under construction at Far East Levingston Shipbuilding Ltd.'s Singapore yard. It is scheduled for completion this week.
The unit's first contract is for two wells, estimated to require 10 months. Ranger has secured an option to drill a third well.
One of the wells will be an ultradeep, high pressure, high temperature hole. Ranger has placed orders with Hydril Co., Houston, to build the industry's first 11 in., 20,000 psi blowout preventer stack and with Worldwide Oilfield Machine, also of Houston, to supply the 20,000 psi choke and kill manifold, along with blowout preventer valves.
This enhanced equipment will give Galaxy I unparalled drilling capacity, Santa Fe said.
WHY BUILD NOW?
Santa Fe committed to build Galaxy I more than 11/2 years ago.
"During the last several years, discussions with North Sea operators disclosed emerging plans to develop oil and gas/condensate discoveries and conduct exploration in the Central North Sea, with a time frame of the early to mid-1990s," said Gordon Anderson, Santa Fe president.
"The Central North Sea environment dictates that rigs must be designed to withstand 100 knot winds, 96 ft seas, and water depths to 360 ft. Relatively few jack up rigs are capable of operating in this environment and, in our view, this market presented a unique opportunity for new construction.
"In addition, increasing use of automation to improve safety and increasing the level of operational efficiency are important goals for new rig construction.
"After assessing the market, Santa Fe concluded that a rig built now would achieve a lower construction cost and with a mid-1991 delivery date would be available at the beginning of an increasing demand cycle."
Galaxy I, designed by Friede & Goldman of New Orleans, is capable of operating in the harsh Central North Sea in water depths of 440 ft seasonally and 360 ft year-round.
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