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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services
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To: Douglas V. Fant who wrote (52387)10/4/1999 7:56:00 PM
From: Big Dog  Read Replies (2) of 95453
 
Rig transport times depend on the method -- wet tow, or dry tow (heavylift ship). A wet tow is when a rig is towed by tugs while it floats in the water. This is the slowest method, but the cheapest. Somtimes speed is not important.

The other method, dry tow, is when a heavylift ship - which is nothing much other than a huge flat deck with a bridge on one end - is ballasted down and the rig is floated on top and the ship is re-ballasted under the rig and ends up with the rig sitting on the deck of the ship. There are only 9 of these ships in the world, with two more to be delivered this year. The biggest ones will hold three jackups or two semis. They are BIG!!

Tranist times vary. But for example, from US Gulf to Singapore it takes about 45 days for a dry tow. Transit times between North Sea and US Gulf would be much less...maybe 18 days?? I'm not sure. Of course, wet tow is much slower and depends on the design of the rig being towed...how "ship shape" it is in the water. A Pentagone design rig will only tow at about three knots, for example (the slowest).

It costs roughly 1-3 million dollars to dry tow a rig from the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico (including commissions :) Insurance is cheaper with a dry tow since it is "safer".

I 3will try to do a more in-depth article about rig transportation in an upcoming ODB issue - for you lucky subscribers.

big
atoffshore.com
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