Scarabeo 9: China-built oil rig coming to Cuba

Repsol has accepted two partners in the venture.Norsk Hydro ASA, Oslo, and ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), New Delhi, signed an association contract in Havana with Repsol and Cuba’s state company Cubapetroleo SA (Cupet) to explore the blocks. Repsol YPF, which will remain operator, is retaining a 40% stake, and Hydro and OVL each will hold 30%.The gateway for the United States to end or weaken the embargo may be the giant oil rig, the Scarabeo 9, which could be on its way to the Florida Straits from a shipyard in Singapore any day now. The Spanish oil company RepSol is the first of several foreign energy companies scheduled to explore for oil in deep water 50 miles from Key West.
A spokesman for Spanish oil company Repsol YPF says a Chinese-made rig is on schedule to arrive off Cuba and begin drilling before the end of the year.

Spokesman Kristian Rix would neither confirm nor deny recent reports of delays for the Scarabeo-9 rig.

He says the project's schedule has always been based on a window of time during which the rig was expected to arrive, and it's impossible to predict exact dates for such a complex undertaking.

Rix said Thursday that the Scarabeo-9 is still on track to arrive and begin operations within that window.
Following the acquisition of several engineering companies over the last years, most prominently of Snamprogetti, Bouygues Offshore and Sofresid, the new Business Unit Saipem Onshore has become one of the world’s largest engineering and construction companies, serving primarily the oil & gas, refining and petrochemical markets as well as a number of diversified industrial ones, such as environment, infrastructure, marine terminals, etc.
More than 30 House lawmakers are urging Spanish energy company Repsol YPF S.A. (REP.MC) to abandon its plan to drill for oil in Cuban waters, saying such a move will bolster the financial strength of the Castro regime and could expose Repsol to criminal and civil liabilities in U.S. courts.

In a letter sent to Repsol’s chairman this week, the lawmakers say they “urge Repsol to reassess the risks inherent in partnering with the Castro dictatorship, including the risk to its commercial interests with the United States.”

Repsol spokesman Kristian Rix said the company “is abiding by U.S. embargo legislation, and our drilling plans are in accordance with” safety standards put in place after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Opposition to Repsol’s drilling plans ramped up in recent weeks, as the Spanish company prepares to begin drilling off Cuba’s north coast by the end of the year. A Chinese-built drilling rig that Repsol will use for the project is currently en route from Singapore to Cuba.


9480423 SCARABEO 9 Drillship 23965 2011

Flag: Bahamas

Width: 73 m
Length: 109 m

Vessel type: Platform
Gross tonnage: 31,331 tons
Summer DWT: 23,965 tons
Build year: 2010
Builder*: Raffles Shipyard
Yantai, China

Saipem Onshore

Ultra deepwater 6th generation semi submersible drilling rig

Classification:
DNV +1A1

Design type:
Frigstad D90

Dimensions:
Length overall: 115.00 m
Breadth (common deck box): 80.00 m
Depth (keel to main deck): 35.40 m
Moonpool dimensions: 42 x 8 m
Displacement: 31,000 t

Design criteria:
Water depth: up to 12,000 ft
Drilling depth: up to 15,200 m
Variable deck load: 8,900 t

Cranes:
2 100 t Liebherr revolving deck cranes with 60 m boom

Drawworks:
Dual ram rig type

Mud pumps:
4 Aker Wirth triplex pumps, 2,200 HP each.

Rotary table:
2 Aker Wirth, max. opening 601/2”. Rated capacity: 1,000 t, driven by hydraulic motor.

Top drive:
2 Aker Maritime Hydraulics DDM 1000 HY RR, rated capacity: 1,000 t – 7,500 psi w.p., driven by Rexroth hydraulic motors.

Derrick:
Aker Maritime hydraulic dual ram rig, 118 ft high. Hook load capacity: 2 x 2,000 kips

BOP:
1 Shaffer spherical preventer 183/4” – 10,000 psi w.p.
1 Shaffer double ram preventer 183/4” – 15,000 psi w.p. with shear capacity
1 Shaffer triple ram preventer 183/4” – 15,000 psi w.p.

Power system generators:
8 Wartsila 12V32LNE 7,200 BHP coupled with Coverteam AC generators 5,400 kW each.

Thrusters:
8 Wartsila FS3500-571NU, driven by 4,300 kW electric motors

Risers:
21” O.D., 50 ft long

Crew facilities:
Air conditioned living quarters for 200 people

Helideck:
Suitable for MI8, S61 and EH101