Rig: Dukhan

'Dukhan' jackup enters service in Qatar

Gulf Drilling International (GDI) a subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS) the largest oilfield services company in Qatar, announced today that the new jack-up drilling rig Dukhan has been accepted by its client, Qatar Petroleum, and left NKOM Shipyard at Ras Laffan yesterday in route to its first location. Dukhan is the 9th offshore jack-up rig in GDI's fleet and the 3rd jack-up rig to be under contract to QP, joining the jackup rigs Al Doha and Al Zubarah. GDI took delivery of the rig from Keppel Fels Shipyard in Singapore last August and had it dry towed to Qatar last month. While undergoing final commissioning and testing in NKOM Shipyard, various third party equipment was installed and drill pipe loaded onto the rig to achieve QP's final acceptance. GDI’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ibrahim J. Al Othman said: “I am pleased to see this rig sail out safely to its first well location in Qatar ahead of schedule. This marks the 5th state of the art cyber rig of GDI’s fleet and will serve to further enhance our operational capabilities while lowering the average age of our rigs. The inspection and acceptance process went very smoothly, allowing drilling services to commence early than expected. I want to thank QP for their excellent support and cooperation, which made the early start of drilling operations possible.”

Keppel delivers 'Dukhan' rig to GDI

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) has delivered its fourth jackup rig, ‘Dukhan’, to Gulf Drilling International Ltd (GDI) of Qatar nine days ahead of schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record. ‘Dukhan’ is a high specification rig built to Keppel’s proprietary KFELS B Class design.Keppel FELS has previously delivered three similar jackup rigs to GDI; ‘Al Khor’, ‘Al Zubarah’ and ‘Les-hat’. Customised for GDI with features that enable it to work anywhere in Qatar, ‘Dukhan’ will be chartered to Qatar Petroleum for five years. The KFELS B Class is equipped with larger spud cans for reduced bearing pressure which expands its operational coverage, especially in sea beds where soft soil is predominant. It includes a 15,000 PSI choke system for well control and can drill wells through 30,000ft with a cantilever that can skid out 75ft from the edge of the hull to drill wells. It also features offline stand building and 7,500 PSI mud pumps.

Qatar Petroleum snap up newbuild GDI jackup

Gulf Drilling International Ltd. Q.S.C. (GDI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS), announced that it has been awarded new contracts by Qatar Petroleum (QP) for the provision of offshore drilling rig services. QP has contracted the newbuild ‘Dukhan’ jackup rig which is expected to be delivered from Keppel FELS Shipyard in Singapore towards the end of Q3 2014. The unit will then be mobilised to Qatar and should start work for QP in offshore Qatar during the Q4 2014. The contract term is five years and valued at QR 1.275 Billion (USD350 million). The ‘Dukhan’ rig was custom built for GDI with features that enable it to work anywhere in Qatar. It is a high-specification, hi-tech rig and accommodates 150 people. The features include a 15,000 psi choke system for well control and can drill wells through 30000ft. and a cantilever that can skid out 75 feet from the edge of the hull to drill wells. Off-line stand building and 7,500 psi mud pumps are another feature that is favoured by clients.