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CIMC Raffles and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore Company (DSIC Offshore) are seen as the forerunners in a race for a contract to build COSL 4, or COSL Prospector, the fourth deep-water semi-submersible for COSL Drilling Europe.
04 November 2011 01:17 GMT
CIMC Raffles is the last of the three bidders, the second being Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), which has been called by COSL Drilling Europe for clarification meetings in Beijing.
The deal could be awarded as early as mid November, with delivery expected in the third quarter of 2014, according to yard sources.
Sources said questions during clarification are largely based on problems COSL Drilling Europe has had with CIMC Raffles during the course of building the first three sister units.
“We have done thorough research on rig requirement for operation in the North Sea,” which is characterised by rough seas and enduring cold weather, says CIMC Raffles president Yu Ya.
The basic design of the GG5000 unit is provided by Norway’s Grenland Group, which earlier modified the design of the first unit, COSLPioneer, by adding extra blisters and sponsons to provide required additional buoyancy.
This could put CIMC Raffles in a positive position in the race, as the yard is fully prepared for the challenges of building the new unit, meant for operations in harsh weather conditions in the North Sea.
The yard is perhaps better positioned to handle the deadline for delivery, having built the first three units. The second was delivered on 21 October and the last is to be delivered at the end of this year, according to CIMC Raffles, but sources said the first quarter 2012 could be a more realistic schedule for delivering the third unit.
As for the second unit, COSL Innovator, the operator Statoil allegedly modified up to 30 features and added another 40 features, which are not specified in the original design, postponing the delivery of the unit by one month till last week.
Sources said that COSL 4 will probably require a fabrication timeline of between 32 and 36 months for COSL Drilling Europe.
Yu says CIMC Raffles is now more familiar with COSL Drilling Europe’s requirements and is fully aware of the potential challenges it could face in building such a unit.
The fourth unit is designed to operate in water depths of 1500 metres, doubling the water depth of the previous three units.
COSL Drilling Europe boss Jorgen Arnesen said earlier that the tendered unit will be for operations in the Arctic, making it a candidate for work in areas such as the Barents Sea and off Greenland.
It will also be tailored to meet Statoil’s technical requirements, making it a virtual copycat of the Norwegian operator’s so-called Cat D workhorse unit designed for well intervention work.
However, CIMC Raffles is facing strong competition from DSIC Offshore, which is also an experienced rig fabricator, but more specialised in jack-up rigs.
Three years ago, DSIC Offshore offered to store the drilling equipment package that COSL Drilling Europe had bought from National Oilwell Varco for COSL 4 at its yard in Dalian free of charge.
Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding is also invited to participate in the tender.
The yard delivered a 6 billion yuan ($900 million) semisub in late May for China National Offshore Oil Corporation.
COSL Drilling Europe executives declined to comment preferred yard for building the new unit, but Li Yong, the president of China Oilfield Service Ltd, the parent of COSL Drilling Europe, says the bid will be conducted in an open, fair and impartial manner.
Published: 04 November 2011 01:17 GMT | Last updated: 04 November 2011 01:17 GMT |
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发表于 2011-11-4 17:50
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