Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Ocean Saratoga/Diamond Offshore/Taylor Energy Co
Another Gulf oil spill: Well near Deepwater Horizon has leaked since at least April 30. A nearby drilling rig, the Ocean Saratoga, has been leaking since at least April 30, according to a federal document. While the leak is decidedly smaller than the Deepwater Horizon spill, a 10-mile-long slick emanating from the Ocean Saratoga is visible from space in multiple images gathered by Skytruth.org, which monitors environmental problems using satellites. Skytruth first reported the leak on its website on May 15. Federal officials mentioned it in the May 1 trajectory map for the Deepwater Horizon spill, stating that oil from the Ocean Saratoga spill might also be washing ashore in Louisiana. Officials with Diamond Offshore, which owns the drilling rig, said that they could not comment on the ongoing spill and referred the Press-Register to well owner Taylor Energy Co., which hired Diamond. Taylor Energy officials did not return calls seeking comment. al.com, 06/07/2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Drilling, Risk and Disasters
Since 2001, there have been 69 offshore deaths, 1,349 injuries and 858 fires and explosions in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the federal Minerals Management Service (MMS), a Bureau of the US Department of the Interior.
There are 42 rigs either drilling or doing upgrades and maintenance in depths of 1,000 feet or greater in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Bureau. They employ an estimated 35,000 people. Transocean has 14 rigs in the Gulf and 140 worldwide.
One of the deadliest U.S. offshore drilling accidents was in 1964, when a catamaran-type drilling barge operated by Pan American Petroleum Corp. near Eugene Island, about 80 miles off Louisiana, suffered a blowout and explosion while drilling a well. Twenty-one crew members died.
The deadliest offshore drilling explosion was in 1988 about 120 miles off Aberdeen, Scotland, in which 167 men were killed.
There are 42 rigs either drilling or doing upgrades and maintenance in depths of 1,000 feet or greater in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Bureau. They employ an estimated 35,000 people. Transocean has 14 rigs in the Gulf and 140 worldwide.
One of the deadliest U.S. offshore drilling accidents was in 1964, when a catamaran-type drilling barge operated by Pan American Petroleum Corp. near Eugene Island, about 80 miles off Louisiana, suffered a blowout and explosion while drilling a well. Twenty-one crew members died.
The deadliest offshore drilling explosion was in 1988 about 120 miles off Aberdeen, Scotland, in which 167 men were killed.
Exploration Companies
Here is a list of exploration companies out there in the deep water, drilling for oil and gas.
Schlumberger N.V. (SLB) provides oil & gas drilling & exploration companies technologically advanced equipment and management services that aid in the extraction and production of crude oil and natural gas. The company provides a range of products from exploration to production of oil. [9] Schlumberger has made a number of acquisitions aimed at increasing their ability to service deepwater drilling, including Smith International and Geoservices, two companies that have advanced technologies that aid in the discovery, analysis, and extraction of deepwater oil reserves.
Transocean (RIG), as the name implies, is the biggest U.S. provider of rigs, platforms and services for offshore drilling.[12] The company acquired Santa Fe International (GSF) in late November 2007, creating the second largest oilfield services company overall, behind only Schlumberger N.V. (SLB) (based on market capitalization). Given that GSF also specializes in offshore drilling, the company in effect doubled down on deepwater drilling.
ChevronTexaco (CVX) acquired Unocal to get exposure to its Gulf of Mexico holdings. The company also partnered with MIT to develop ultra-deepwater drilling technology, to let the company search for oil at depths never before considered.
Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) owns one of the largest drilling fleets in the world, a total of 44 ships, including 30 semisubmersibles, 14 jack-ups and one drillship. DO contracts these rigs to “operators”, or oil companies to find new oil or gas deposits, or to prepare existing deposits for production.
Brazilian Petroleum Corporation (PBR) is the national oil company of Brazil, with a virtual monopoly of all petroleum exploration and production in the country. In November 2007, the company announced the discovery of the Tupi oilfield, the biggest discovery in the last 20 years worldwide. Estimates from geological studies claim reserves in the range of 5 to 8 billion BOE. To put this in perspective, this field alone increases Brazil's hydrocarbon reserves by nearly 50%. One complication is that the oil is beneath 2000 to 3000 meters of water, making its retrieval a complex and likely expensive deepwater project. As of May, 2008, Petrobras had contracted 80% of the world's deepwater rigs, driving dayrates up for the rest of the industry as remaining oil majors like Exxon Mobil and BP compete for the other 20%.
SeaDrill Limited (SDRL) is a Bermuda-based offshore drilling company, with units deployed in northern Europe, Africa, southeast Asia, and North America. The company also has platform drilling and well intervention on fixed installations in the North Sea.
Schlumberger N.V. (SLB) provides oil & gas drilling & exploration companies technologically advanced equipment and management services that aid in the extraction and production of crude oil and natural gas. The company provides a range of products from exploration to production of oil. [9] Schlumberger has made a number of acquisitions aimed at increasing their ability to service deepwater drilling, including Smith International and Geoservices, two companies that have advanced technologies that aid in the discovery, analysis, and extraction of deepwater oil reserves.
Transocean (RIG), as the name implies, is the biggest U.S. provider of rigs, platforms and services for offshore drilling.[12] The company acquired Santa Fe International (GSF) in late November 2007, creating the second largest oilfield services company overall, behind only Schlumberger N.V. (SLB) (based on market capitalization). Given that GSF also specializes in offshore drilling, the company in effect doubled down on deepwater drilling.
ChevronTexaco (CVX) acquired Unocal to get exposure to its Gulf of Mexico holdings. The company also partnered with MIT to develop ultra-deepwater drilling technology, to let the company search for oil at depths never before considered.
Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) owns one of the largest drilling fleets in the world, a total of 44 ships, including 30 semisubmersibles, 14 jack-ups and one drillship. DO contracts these rigs to “operators”, or oil companies to find new oil or gas deposits, or to prepare existing deposits for production.
Brazilian Petroleum Corporation (PBR) is the national oil company of Brazil, with a virtual monopoly of all petroleum exploration and production in the country. In November 2007, the company announced the discovery of the Tupi oilfield, the biggest discovery in the last 20 years worldwide. Estimates from geological studies claim reserves in the range of 5 to 8 billion BOE. To put this in perspective, this field alone increases Brazil's hydrocarbon reserves by nearly 50%. One complication is that the oil is beneath 2000 to 3000 meters of water, making its retrieval a complex and likely expensive deepwater project. As of May, 2008, Petrobras had contracted 80% of the world's deepwater rigs, driving dayrates up for the rest of the industry as remaining oil majors like Exxon Mobil and BP compete for the other 20%.
SeaDrill Limited (SDRL) is a Bermuda-based offshore drilling company, with units deployed in northern Europe, Africa, southeast Asia, and North America. The company also has platform drilling and well intervention on fixed installations in the North Sea.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Who was on Transocean's Deepwater Horizon ?
"Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) reported a fire onboard its semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon. The incident occurred April 20, 2010 at approximately 10:00 p.m. central time in the United States Gulf of Mexico. The rig was located approximately 41 miles offshore Louisiana on Mississippi Canyon block 252. Transocean's Emergency and Family Response Teams are working with the U.S. Coast Guard and lease operator BP Exploration & Production, Inc. to care for all rig personnel and search for missing rig personnel. A substantial majority of the 126 member crew is safe but some crew members remain unaccounted for at this time." There were seventy-nine Transocean workers, six BP employees and 41 contract workers were aboard. Transocean reports that of the 11 missing, 9 were Transocean employees and 2 were M-I SWACO emplyees. Smith International, Inc. Confirms Status of Personnel
Transocean's Deepwater Horizon - tragedy
Americans (and those around the world) have witnessed on television, on the Internet and in news reports, the tragedy that occurred this week off of the Louisiana coast. What really do we know about oil platforms, also called oil rigs?
Transocean apparently owned the oil platform we have learned about and watched this week. This particular oil platform was called Deepwater Horizon, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard, Ulsan, South Korea in 2001. It was described as a semi-submersable oil drilling rig. It was flying the flag of Marshall Islands. This oil platform was a 5th Generation Deepwater, Reading & Bates Falcon RBS8D design, semi-submersible drilling unit capable of operating in harsh environments and water depths up to 8,000 ft (upgradeable to 10,000 ft) using 18¾in 15,000 psi BOP and 21in OD marine riser. This Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) was leased to BP Exploration and Production (BPEP). It cost $350 million to build, $600 million to replace, today. BPEP was paying $0.5 million per day in fees.
The Transocean website lists a total of 14 oil platforms currently in the Gulf of Mexico: Cajun Express, Deepwater Horizon, Deepwater Nautilus, Development Driller III, Discoverer Americas, Discoverer Clear Leader, Discoverer Deep Seas, Discoverer Enterprise, Discoverer Spirit, GSF C.R. Luigs, GSF Development Driller I, GSF Development Driller II, Transocean Amirante, and the Transocean Marianas. Transocean lists 134 oil platforms worldwide in their fleet.
Transocean apparently owned the oil platform we have learned about and watched this week. This particular oil platform was called Deepwater Horizon, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard, Ulsan, South Korea in 2001. It was described as a semi-submersable oil drilling rig. It was flying the flag of Marshall Islands. This oil platform was a 5th Generation Deepwater, Reading & Bates Falcon RBS8D design, semi-submersible drilling unit capable of operating in harsh environments and water depths up to 8,000 ft (upgradeable to 10,000 ft) using 18¾in 15,000 psi BOP and 21in OD marine riser. This Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) was leased to BP Exploration and Production (BPEP). It cost $350 million to build, $600 million to replace, today. BPEP was paying $0.5 million per day in fees.
The Transocean website lists a total of 14 oil platforms currently in the Gulf of Mexico: Cajun Express, Deepwater Horizon, Deepwater Nautilus, Development Driller III, Discoverer Americas, Discoverer Clear Leader, Discoverer Deep Seas, Discoverer Enterprise, Discoverer Spirit, GSF C.R. Luigs, GSF Development Driller I, GSF Development Driller II, Transocean Amirante, and the Transocean Marianas. Transocean lists 134 oil platforms worldwide in their fleet.
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