drilling rig type for subsea well

[suraiya]

I'm a facilities engineer who has just started to venture into subsea production system. My question, is it technically possible to drill shallow water subsea well (say around 300ft water depth) from a jack-up rig or a tender-assist barge? If not, why?

I'm just curious because in this part of the world that I'm working (South East Asia), almost all subsea wells are drilled from semisubs (and that cost a bomb at $350-$400k/day rig rate!!).

If it is possible to drill subsea wells from jack-up or tender- assist barge or drillship, do these rigs have any limitation, respectively?

 

[JLSeagull]

This is not my area of knowledge but my serious case of "male answer syndrome" forces me to post anyway.

Jackup rigs exist capable of shallow water to about 300-foot. I don't know how much deeper. I have seen mention of 450-foot on cable TV but lack details. Search for the Uncle John. It may be able to drill in shallow waters like that.

Semi-submersible drilling / production / quarters rigs such as the Thunderhorse, Nikika, Diana, etc. cover deep water drilling to 7000-foot water and deep into the surface. Other deep water technologies include SPARS and tension leg platforms. Deep water is the relm of the big oil companies with lotsa big bucks.

 

[kiwinjuneer]

suraiya

I too, have male answer syndrome but have had a bit to do with marine riser design and I think your answer is, it depends...

If you are in sheltered waters such as is found in many places along the GoM, the answer is probably yes. If not, the water depth relative to the wave-induced pitch/heave of the vessel, is going to cause some major problems that are outside the capability of the motion compensation system.

There; I've set myself up for being shot down by an expert in this field!