Indian semi sinks off eastern Venezuela

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 13 – A semisubmersible rig sank in the Caribbean off Venezuela’s eastern coast, but the crew of nearly 100 was reported safe.

Aban Offshore, Chennai, said the Aban Pearl sank “following an incident” and that a decision was made to abandon the vessel. The Aban Pearl was built in 1977.

The drilling contractor identifies the rig as being a twin-hull, column-stabilized unit capable of drilling to 25,000 ft in 1,250 ft of water.

The rig was working for state Petroleos de Venezuela in 160 m of water. It was assigned to Campo Dragon gas field, part of the Mariscal Sucre project.