Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Hi Peakview,
Under the assumption that it really is a scour issue that caused the suspension of drilling ops and the temporary removal of the JU rig from site, the planning is not something for me to speculate about.
If rock-dumping on site is the solution, we have to look at availability of suitable rock-dumping vessels. These are custom-designed vessels and very much in demand these days for wind-farm installations. But possibly available on the spot-market for a fly-by job at Southwark. I assume that IOG and their vessel brokers are working hard on this right now.
Time will tell when things happen offshore, I'll keep an eye out on the Marine Traffic site what is happening on site.
Before fingers are pointed and the search for somebody to blame starts, the following:
NHDeul has suspended its drilling operations for safety reasons. Allthough not very common, it has happened before that the stability of a rig's legs on the seabed is compromized. I assume that it is a scour issue, where sand on the seabed around te spudcans (the lower part of a leg) is washed away by strong bottom currents. These strong currents are common at the driling location.
Remedy can be to dump rocks on the seabed and relocate the rig back with the legs / spudcans on top of this bed of rocks.
This well is not a real lucky one so far, but safety first! And off course we all hope for good results once the well is finally drilled and tested.
Have a nice day!
I agree Edgar! But it shows an impressive trend with the top of the hill still in uncharted waters !
A SP of 37 p seems almost normal today.
Exactly 1 year ago the SP was 14,5 p
Not so bad, IOG and its BoD + tech teams must have done something pretty good the past year
Have a nice day!
Today's RNS gives an explanation how simple bad luck can sometimes affect a schedule.
It is good to read that the delay in the start of the drilling operations were caused by external factors: one ROV down, the replacement ROV not working to satisfaction. Welcome to the wonderfull world of offshore ops, sometimes it simply does not come together right! And as stated in the RNS: SAFETY FIRST!!!
And in the meantime a sp of 36.5 at the start of today.
Have a nice day and I look forward to a GREAT 2022!
I also remember the crazy years, for me this started in 2011. From the founding companies MOST & EELI, a pile of shares that were gathering dust somewhere in my system, Skipper, external forces that made no sense to me (but then: I am a sailor, not an experienced investor). Careful optimism over the past year with most of the pieces coming together.
Pat Haynes, who was instrumental in the founding of MOST & EELI and who managed to get the very early licenses on Blythe, passed away recently but must be looking down now with some sense of satisfaction. Cheers Pat!
I have been around for quite some years now. My target on this SP has always been 35p .
But with the present situation offshore & onshore, combined with a crazy rise in gas prices and a positive sentiment in the market, i'll stick around a little bit longer ! Merry Christmas to all the LTH and newcomers.
Very few shareholders in IOG have heard of Pat Haynes. But without Pat it is unlikely that IOG in its present would exist.
Pat spend a lifetime in the energy business, thinking outside the box. Coal mining on Spitsbergen, based on "slurry" transport in a custom build ice-classed bulk-carrier. Founded Eboroil with multiple companies in Canada, Panama, Fribourg and the UK. And Pat was instrumental to the founding of MOST and EELI.; these 2 companies at a later stage became I.O.G. He managed to get the early concessions for the Skipper (MOST) and Blythe (EELI) fields.
Pat's direct involvement in the companies ended around 2010. My own involvement in EELI started in 2011 when I took over some of the shares from Pat.
Pat passed away last week in Norway, where he has lived the past years. And it is worth remembering that Pat's energy and involvement in the early days are a part of the history of I.O.G.
Rest in peace, Pat!
Along the Dutch North Sea coast erosion of the coast & dunes caused concern.
A "sand engine" has been developed where sand suppletion with dredgers made a new peninsula and natural environmental forces (read current & tides) ensures that additional sediment of sand runs along the coast and brings the sand that is needed to keep the beaches at its required levels. A similar "sand engine" was made to protect the Norfolk coast-line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_engine
No rig-move activity has been seen today.
Aligator,
The Noble Hans Deul JU rig was towed to Dundee last week and is now alongside the Eastern Wharf Quay. I assume that integrity checks on the leg / jacking systems and repairs are ongoing. No new rig-move activity is noticed at present. But I'll keep an eye out for the arrival of the towing vessels for the move back to the field.
The JU-rig Noble Hans Deul had a technical problem on on of the jacking systems / legs last Sunday (as reported by IOG) while setting up at the Southwark platform.
Tugs remained connected and an extra large tug (Alp Winger) was mobilized from Rotterdam.
During the night the rig was again lowered in the water and tow spread departed Southwark during the night.
The tow is heading North-West to a port / repair yard and is making good speed. Final destination is not yet reported.
Safe travel to the crews on the rig and tugs !
It is indeed very good that the IOG BoD gave us information about the ongoing marine operations and the things that are happening on site right now.
Safety first!!
It looks like a controlled situation right now, let's wait and see what comes next!
Getting a JU rig into the final position next to a production platform is precision work.
The target position is within a few meters. The drilling tower can be moved a bit on its cantilever platform, but all within limits. And the drilling tower must be exactly above the wellhead position of the fixed platform.
The link below shows a nice example how limited the space can be: a picture of the drilling assembly ( in blue ) on the Blythe platform.
https://www.offshore-energy.biz/iog-boasts-successful-flow-test-at-blythe-development-well/
Offshore another big tug (Alp Winger) has arrived and took over the position of the Njord Viking on the leading tug position. Njord Viking is moving off location.
From Marine Traffic data, it looks like the JU-rig is still slightly away from its final position. Wind, wave and current influences will require carefull manoeuvring for the last meters. The jack-up legs are approx 30 meters below the hull (current influence) and approx 60 meters into the air (wind influence) while the JU hull and superstructure is under the influence of both wind, current and waves. The final move is often done when the current is at is lowest (slack tide). And tidal currets at this location can be fierce!
The rig-move team on board is highly experienced and will get the job done safely. But sometimes it takes a bit of patience!
In the meantime the SP ik slowly creeping up again towards the 30 p level.
GLA
Monday morning marine update:
This rigmove is not ovet yet! The rig is in a stationary position at close proximty to the Southwark platform. From a distance, based on Marine traffic information, it is off course not possible to say if this already the final position.
The 3 tugs are still attached to the rig, which indicates that the move and pre-loading is not completed yet! And the PSV Vos Paradise is still moored in Great Yarmouth.
Lets wait and see what today brings. The weather on site is picking up a bit.
Have a nice day!
My guess yesterday that this morning would see the PSV Vos Paradize alongside for cargo operations was a bit optimistic. The leading tug Njord Viking and the 2 smaller Multraship escort tugs are in close position around the rig now. Which I assume is now the re-locating of the rig from yesterday's stand-off position to its final position close to the Southwark platform. (the past track on Marine Traffic confirms smaller movements over the past hours) Vos Paradize is still in Great Yarmouth. Offshore marine operations as usual.
Have a nice day!
And there is a lot of respect from me to the IOG BoD and their technical team + main-contractors and other suppliers to get this field developmet to the present state. First gas expected soon, offshore production facilities installed, export pipeline + receiving facilities onshore (almost?) ready. As a LTH this is a very good year ! Let's hope the market appreciates this as much as I do!
torobravo: getting a field online is complex. Apart from the actual wellhead there are subsea manifolds, surface platforms, export pipelines, etc. So the presence of the Seven Pagasus at Blythe is likely one of the steps to complete the infrastructure, subsea completions, pipeline tie-ins and integrity checks of the complete system.
Offshore it is business as usual: During the night the tow arrived on the Southwark location. First step is to bring the rig to the stand-off position close to the platform and lower the legs to the seabed. Then one of the smaller tugs will run 2 stern anchors. Raise the legs again a few feet off the seabed and winch the rig (assisted by the tugs) to the final position close to the platform. Lower the legs and jack the rig barely out of the water. Then all ballast tanks are filled for pre-loading of the legs; a safety precaution to test the seabed and prevent unwanted penetration of the legs into the seabed / soil. Once the pre-loading (usually a number of hours) is completed to satidfaction, the rig will be jacked up to its final height. The drillling rig is then pushed out (cantilevered) over the platform in preparatiion to the start of the drilling operations.
An educated guess is that by this time tomorrow the PSV Vos Paradise will be alongside to offload all the equipment and consumables that are needed to start drilling.
Have a nice weekend all.
On the move!
The rig has just raised the legs off the seabed and is slowly moving off location.
Have a safe transport out there.
Rig-move update: the leading tug Njord Viking is alongside to get the tow-connection to the rig, escort tugs Mutraship 3 & 18 also alongside. So jacking down and getting the rig off location and the tow to Southwark is imminent. Weather for the next days looks good. Have a nice day!