Skip to main content

Southwark drilling programme halted

Published by , Editor
Oilfield Technology,


IOG has said that the Noble Hans Deul rig, currently drilling at the Southwark gas field in the North Sea, has experienced an increasing challenge with seabed conditions that, if not remediated, would compromise rig stability.

Technical personnel have explored potential options to manage these challenges. However, on Friday 7 January, the rig owner concluded that, as a prudent precautionary measure, temporary re-location of the rig will be required to facilitate seabed remediation and enable safe continuation of Southwark drilling operations. This course of action is now in motion.

The rig is expected to remain offshore with non-essential crew and equipment demobilised while the issue is rectified.

Andrew Hockey, CEO of IOG, commented: "This is a frustrating but absolutely necessary step to ensure we can drill and complete the Southwark production wells in a fully safe manner, which is always our foremost priority. Our team is working around the clock with our drilling contractors Noble Corporation and Petrofac to minimise the interruption and resume the Southwark drilling programme at the earliest opportunity."


Read the latest issue of Oilfield Technology in full for free: Issue 4 2021

The issue starts with a report from Rystad Energy focusing on the outlook for the upstream industry in the Middle East. The rest of the issue is dedicated to features covering production optimisation, drill bits, pipeline integrity, health and safety, and more.

Exclusive contributions come from Varel Energy Solutions, Rystad Energy, Gyrodata, 3X Engineering, Tracerco, Ulterra Drilling Technologies and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/10012022/southwark-drilling-programme-halted/

You might also like

 
 

Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below):