Newest rig features large pipe makeupbreakout area

Sedco Express utilizes pontoon storage, dual mud systems

William Furlow
Technology Editor
The Sedco Express fifth-generation semi submersible offers a package of innovations that may
point the way for the next generation of deepwater new builds. Olle Lorehn, Sedco Forex
international marketing manager for North America, said the innovation in these new builds is
more a matter of applying existing technology in new ways.
The Sedco Forex vessel design team, Lorehn said, included the usual industry and client input,
but also individuals who had no experience in the business. Lorehn said these novices were
courted not for what they knew, but for what they didn't know. "We wanted a completely new
approach," he said.
Those with industry experience might have ideas that were more practical, but Lorehn said
these advisors are hamstrung by their experience. They know what is practical, which means
they may automatically dismiss some ideas that at first blush seem unrealistic.

De-bottlenecking drilling
The primary goal of this team was to de-bottleneck the drilling process. Because of the rise in
day rates in the Gulf of Mexico, where the new rigs would most likely operate, turnaround time
can be a major cost. A common goal expressed by those looking into new designs is to hire a
rig that can get the job done quickly and safely. This shortened turnaround time can mean
substantial dollar savings.
Lorehn said the team identified the handling, making up, and breaking out of tubulars, as a real
problem time-wise. Other priorities of this new design were increased safety, both physical and
environmental. Lorehn said the team looked at ways to combine these goals into an integrated
solution.
By surveying reported accidents on offshore rigs over the last decade, Lorehn said the team
discovered the primary cause of the accidents was workers tripping and falling on the drillfloor.
To overcome this danger, it was decided the new rig would have a larger flat pipe deck with pipe

stacked no more than 6 ft high. Lorehn said the drill rig has also been heavily automated with
six iron roughnecks.
Once the pipe is loaded on the vessel, it is mechanically handled throughout the operation. This
modification also lends itself to efficiency. There are two iron roughneck stations set up on the
deck, one to the port and one to the starboard. Each station has two iron roughnecks that can
make up or break out pipe, casing, and riser strings. These strings are then set back in 125-130
ft stands to facilitate faster handling.
This solution eliminates the dangers involved in handling pipe manually, while making the
drilling process more efficient. Two additional iron roughnecks are installed in the rig's expanded
mast to handle pipe and casing.
With a time savings of several days for some drilling activities other areas of delay begin to
stand out. For example, this time savings means the traditional mud systems, in which one pit
mixes mud and then serves it to the pumps, would not be adequate. Lorehn said there would
not be time for one system to mix and pump during the setting of the casing, because of the
reduction in time required to run casing.
To overcome this problem, the Sedco Express has two mud systems that work in tandem, one
mixing while the other pumps. The vessel can carry 4,600 bbl of mud on its surface pits and
another 4,200 bbl reserve in each pontoon.
In addition to mud pits, the pontoons also contain a variety of other equipment including the
engine room, mooring winches, mud pumps, and oil tanks. Lorehn said the pontoons were
traditionally just filled with water, but as semis grew larger, they required larger pontoons with
more room inside.
Eventually the option of filling these with something besides water became practical. This move
cleared the decks, literally.
The pontoons are double hulled everywhere except in the areas designed to carry water. Also
the columns are double hulled. Lorehn said the rear columns, which support the heavy mast
and make-up stations, are larger than the forward columns to provide greater stability for the
drill floor.

Newbuilds underway
There are two versions of the new vessel currently under construction. Lorehn said Texaco will
receive the Sedco Energy in August of 1999. This vessel will be used in the Gulf of Mexico and
includes an optional dynamic positioning system as well as the mooring system. Lorehn said the
second vessel, being built for a contract with Elf, will not have the mooring system.
The D3 three-time redundancy dynamic positioning system which is the primary station keeping
system on this new design, is engineered with the strong loop currents of the Gulf of Mexico in
mind. The system is capable of holding the rig on station in a 3.5-knot loop current, with a 60knot head wind in 26 ft significant seas. This is with one engine and one thruster out. Lorehn
said these rigs are designed for moderate environments, such as the Gulf of Mexico and can be
outfitted to drill in water up to 10,000 ft.
The mooring system features traction
winches with over 1 million lbs of pull. The
vessel can be conventionally moored in up
to 2,000 ft of water or can grab onto a
prelaid mooring system for a development
or production project.
With the additional size and automation of
these vessels the crews will be a bit larger.
Lorehn estimates 50-60 people will be
needed to run the dynamically positioned
version. This new generation of
roughnecks will very different from
predecessors. These men and women will
have to have field experience as well as
the technical expertise needed to handle
the increasingly complex systems.
Lorehn said the crew quarters on the new vessels have this next generation of worker in mind.
Gone are the six-man bunk areas. They have been replaced by two-man suites with private
showers. The crew quarters are constructed as a separate module; not only are they easier and
less expensive to fabricate, but they do not transmit as much noise from the rig to the crew
quarters