Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s new semi-submersible drilling rig of the new generation named after Heydar Aliyev, opened on May 18, is being tested in the sea, a source in the Azerbaijani oil and gas market told Trend May 25.
The source added that at present, anchors are being tested on the platform.
“The balancing has been recently tested,” the source said. “Earlier, the test operations were carried out at a depth of 20.5 meters.
"The test operations are carried out in the sea 70 km off the shore at a depth of about 43 meters reaching 7.5 meters," the source said. “The results obtained during the test operations are very good."
The source added that according to the plans, anchors, desalination and hydrophores will be tested for the next five days.
"The tests are expected to complete within a week,” the source said. “Afterwards, the contract for the use of the drilling rig will be prepared."
The construction of the first new generation drilling rig for SOCAR began in 2013. The new drilling rig is designed to drill wells with a depth of 12,000 meters at a sea depth of 1,000 meters. The maximum depth of the Caspian Sea is 1,025 meters.
Construction work was carried out at the Caspian Shipyard Company’s construction site.
Caspian Drilling Company Ltd (CDC), where SOCAR has a 92.44-percent share, is an operator of the drilling rig.
Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited is the contractor of the drilling rig’s construction.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
