Member Info for Xmtman

Back in 2009 the sail was scheduled for 62 days , starting from Cromarty Firth. There was stopover at Ascension for a crew change if I recollect correctly, thereafter once they were down on location it was 4 week rotations via charter flights. Crew Changes from the Islands were dealt with by a couple of S61s that were relocated there for the duration. So if its all planned to kick off at the end of this year there are a lot of logistics happening behind the scenes for it to come together, Drilling and casing supplies, bulk cement, drilling muds all need mobilising and storing ready for the off. I suspect it will be a tow down with anchor handlers being the supply vessels for the duration.

Noble Endeavour relocated last week from Invergordon and is now located in a shipyard in Norway for a bit of light fettling, a man in the Spiders says crew is all set for heading to the Falklands. DYOR

Could be another one from Bluewater's Fleet - Munin has the same capacity as is mentioned and its looking for work.

Could be another one from Bluewater's Fleet - Munin has the same capacity as is mentioned and its looking for work.

I suspect first indication for rig (if indeed it is the Ocean Endevour) will be it moving from its current location to closer to dockside in Invergordon - as before heading off south it will need a refresh after having been idle for a year or so - it might even be due a 5 year recert before it heads off - so there should be some activity a few months before it heads off .

I think that the ABZ office may be closely linked to where a lot of the subsea hardware will be being engineered and in some cases supplied from out of. We will see when some of the hardware contracts are formally announced. Back in the days of the Ocean Guardian exploration campaign a lot of the players such as AGR and Diamond Offshore were up in the NE of Scotland and in the current climate there is a lot of available experience a to select from.

It could be towed down or taken down on a heavy lift ship. I suspect a tow although taking a bit longer may be an option as if they load it up with equipment the Centre of gravity on a heavy lifter may be an issue. If towing it could be same as was done with the Ocean Guardian it was hauled down there by the anchor handling tugs which will be required down there anyhow. If indeed its the Noble Endeavour (ex Ocean Endeavour) then there may still be some of the original Diamond drilling rig crew around that were down to the FI on the Ocean Guardian original campaign that would fancy going back there.

Endevour has been parked in Invergordon mooring since May 2025 - If it was selected it could serve out its working life down in the FI. If it is the one its currently located in a convenient place to redo its 5 year recert prior to departure. I'm sure behind the scenes there are already a lot of parts moving in the background and LOI's in place soon to be replaced by formal contracts.

Sorry to hear that Admiral Guns passed away - he was one of the posters from back in the day that was worth reading unlike some others that still seem to be posting on the RKH board under new names but the garbled nonsense remains the same.

As has been said before on this board and elsewhere - Sealion isn't just a single field its the opening of a whole new province for exploration and production. However, what will be interesting to see is if Navitas evolve their model further. As thus far in all their presentations they have stated that they buy into production ready prospects and get them over the line. A fairly low risk strategy in the scheme of things, even with some detailed seismics of whats all around Sealion there are some exploration wells to be drilled and work to be done to get anything else to the stage that Navitas traditionally buy into. Looking at how they operate in the gulf where they are not the operators they partner with the likes of LLOG, Beacon and Talos leaving them to be the operator and do the exploration. So, the business model may be already evolving by them taking operator role in Sealion. Question is are they going to deviate from the model to have a full exploration arm of the business - from the looks of the team that is being built there is quite a bit of experience there that have been there and done that before which bodes well for the future and precludes the need to bring some other party in to take a portion of future areas or do they simply help RKH be the exploration arm and appraise the next Sealion. Very interesting times after all these years.

The Hercules is certainly a state of the art rig - but its OTT for North Basin - unless there is a greater plan thats still under wraps. For a cost conscious hirer something like the Borgland Dolphin currently stacked in Las Palmas (half way there already) might see out its days down and cost significantly less and in some ways an old school simple rig might be better in a new province with less local service support.

Not only shallow vs Deep - but Shenandoah is specialised 20,000 psi equipment - so not standard subsea technology its more recently developed https://www.worldoil.com/magazine/2022/november-2022/features/reinventing-the-subsea-production-system-the-first-20-000-psi-sps/technology whereas Sealion although not being off the rack is a standard Pressure and Temperature field and can use technology thats been around for 20 years or so.

The start up process and subsequent tests, flow tests, and shut in tests will be part of a defined programme that will have been scrutinised for a significant time months before the event. They will be working through this step by step and will gradually bring everything on stream - this isnt just household plumbing here where you connect to the mains and just open the tap. This is the culmination of years of planning and ramp up to full production will be gradual over days/weeks so dont expect a headline figure day one. Everything needs to come up slowly and warm up the systems, opening taps too fast too fast can cause all sorts of issues needing remediation so it will be a very controlled process.

The exploration drills will have been drilled with a minimal casing programme, most likely will have been a straight hole and sited to test for the extremities of the reservoir - they are positioned to validate the seismic data and to prove the fluid is mobile within the reservoir rock. The production well design - hardware and location will be positioned for optimum flow possibly with multiple zones and horizontal sections to allow maximum flow.

Back in the early days the Ocean Guardian proved to be a very good fit for North Basin work with very little NPT. So reality is something like that is all that is needed - Ocean Patriot working for Taqa would do the job, the Ocean Oynx - cold stacked in Malaysia would do North Basin work as would the Ocean Apex in Australia with contract ending July 2025. All would be a fit and likely cheaper day rate.

Deepsea Mira is a DP rig that can do up to 3000m water depth - good for south basin. It has also got a trad set of anchors and mooring spread for Shallow water - North Basin. 15000 PSI BOP Stack - good for all. Its a pretty new rig 2019 so should be more that fit for purpose - but its all about the dayrate and the deal - as its a lot of cost to get one down there so its got to be a good deal for all parties. It also depends on the installation model for the subsea hardware - Drill and complete or batch set. So may have another lower dayrate cost installation vessel still to add to the mix to let the rig just drill.

Https://www.upstreamonline.com/rigs-and-vessels/more-design-work-awarded-on-fpso-earmarked-for-falklands/2-1-1763583?zephr_sso_ott=PnXFwj

65p by year end

The one thing that the oil industry is good at is lateral thinking and logistics. If they want to get a piece of equipment from point A in the globe to point B - they can get it done - by hook or by crook - whether that is by charter vessel or by Hiring a heavy lift plane. So supporting operations in falklands is just another little challenge to be managed. Nothing is impossible - only the cost will vary and if planned well enough that can be managed. This isnt a knee jerk project all the pieces of the puzzle will have been considered , risk assessed and planned.

During Guardian era - crew changes were every 4 weeks flying out of Brize Norton - Choppers were redeployed from North Sea for the commute to the rig along with their maintenance crews. Accommodation for the rig crew in transit was needed . Plus all the sub contractors and hardware this time around for production hardware installation rather than just appraisal Wellheads will need more space/people (contactors and company men) /logistics. So I very much doubt that there will be 2 rigs in the near term. Unless there is major building program underway and nearing completion on the island.