By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, Apr. 26 -- Saipem SPA is drilling a wildcat off southern Gabon in 2,791 m of water, the deepest in the world to date, with its S10000 drillship.
The Italian contractor said the wildcat is the first assignment for the 97,000-tonne vessel, which has storage for 140,000 bbl of oil and processing capacity of 20,000 b/d. It is designed to operate in water depths down to 3,000 m and drill to 10,000 m.
The well off Gabon is being drilled for Total Astrid Marin Gabon, acting for the Vanco Gabon Group. Partners are TotalFinaElf SA 28%, Unocal Corp. 25%, Vanco Energy Co. 22%, Kerr-McGee Corp. 14%, and Reading & Bates Development Co. 11%.
Saipem spent $300 million to build the S10000, inaugurated in April, as part of a $1 billion plan to enlarge its drilling fleet for the deep and ultradeepwater market.