About four kilometers from Marai, the West Castor is ready to carry out the next drilling for the Nearshore Drilling project.
In the early hours of Friday 10 May, the Rig was relocated to the second drilling location, Electric Ray, using the tugboat GH Challenger. Exploration well Marai was closed on April 30 after being drilled to maximum depth. Preparations were made to go to Electric Ray as soon as possible. "We immediately started demobilizing staff and removing unnecessary equipment," Dan Saenz, Project Operations Manager, tells us. “The West Castor contains a drilling floor that is retracted for relocation. In addition, the legs of the drilling platform that are stuck in the seabed must be retracted. Since this type of drilling platform, the so-called jack-up Rig, does not have its own propulsion system, it remains floating on the water. The West Castor is therefore being towed from one location to another.”
On board, Offshore Rig Movers International (ORMI) and team ensured that the drilling platform was safely relocated and stationed at the new location. ORMI is the contractor who was specifically brought in for the relocation to Suriname. “Once at the new location, the process is repeated, but then the legs are driven back into the sea floor for stability. The Rig is lifted out of the water and the drilling floor is extended again. Finally, personnel and equipment were sent back to the platform in preparation for this drilling.”
Click video below to see how the Rig has been moved.
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