OIM lines up groundbreaking rig

Chinese-led joint venture set to unveil order for the BT-400PAU-design unit, with longest cantilever built

A Chinese-led joint venture is set to unveil an order for a jack-up rig with what it claims is the world’s longest cantilever as it chases plug-and-abandon (P&A) and decommissioning work, with the harsh environment and North Sea sectors in its crosshairs.

OIM Pte. Ltd. (OIM) - formed in 2016 by Hong Kong-listed TSC Group and Offshore CC FZE (OCC FZE) - is set to unveil the order for the BT-400PAU-design unit at CIMC Raffles in China, with first steel set to be cut early next year and delivery seen in 2020.

The rig, which will be ordered speculatively, will DNV GL classed with NIS flag, capable of year-round operations in 122 metres of water and will be Norway and UK compliant.

With a 135-foot (41-metre) reach, it will boast the world’s longest cantilever, with a maximum capacity of 250 tonnes.

The cantilever has been designed and will be supplied by Norway’s Dwellop, which will also provide the workover rig.

It will also have the world’s longest heavy-lift crane on a jack-up — supplied by Huisman Equipment — with a 2200-tonne capacity.

OIM and OCC founder Oddgeir Indrestrand, who previously headed up Offshore Innovation Management Ltd. from which the new joint venture has “borrowed” its name OIM, told Upstream the unit is “a new way to solve a big problem”.

Indrestrand, who is now President of the new OIM joint venture, said the cantilever will be able to reach wells currently out of reach from other units, cutting out the need for upgrading work to carry out P&A operations.

It will also be able to do decommissioning and P&A work at the same time, cutting down on operators’ costs.

The workover rig will be designed to carry out operations such as well recompletions, sidetracking, and casing and tubing clean-out.

The unit could also be used as a tender support rig for extended platform drilling operations, and will come equipped with 180 single man cabins and a large deck space.

Indrestrand would not disclose the order value but said the rig is costing “about a third” of the price of a GustoMSC-design CJ70 rig, currently the largest jack-up in the world.

Part of the reason for the significantly lower cost is that it will not be performing any drilling operations.

Indrestrand would not disclose the estimated dayrate for the new unit once it hits the water, but said: “Even in today’s market for smaller jack-ups in the North Sea or Norway, they are very competitive.”

The rig will be operated by OSM Offshore, with Norwegian services company Archer managing the cantilever when there are any well operations ongoing.

Indrestrand said majority shareholder TSC’s exposure to markets such as Asia, North and South America could help OIM in securing work for the unit outside of the North Sea market. TSC’s major shareholders are China Merchants Group and CIMC Group.

OIM in late 2013 signed a deal with Dubai’s Drydocks World that was to see the pair build accommodation and construction support jack-ups for the North Sea market. However, no orders were ever firmed up and the deal fell apart, with Indrestrand blaming it on Drydocks’ inability to come up with project financing or investors.

The Drydocks units would have been purely for accommodation and heavy-lift operations with no cantilever.

OIM considering order to build world's largest jack-up

Chinese-backed OIM has set its sights on ordering a second rig at CIMC Raffles that would be the largest jack-up in the world, with a public listing also on the cards, writes Upstream’s Eoin O'Cinneide.

The relative newcomer is looking to order the decommissioning and plug-and-abandonment (P&A) unit at CIMC Raffles as soon as it firms up a charter for its first order, which is close to being placed.

That order, for a BT-400PAU-design rig with a 135-foot-reach cantilever and 2200-tonne-capacity Huisman crane, is due to be made on speculation.

OIM president Oddgeir Indrestrand told Upstream the company will wait until it has secured a charter for the first rig before hatching the follow-up order, which will be for a much larger unit that will be capable of working in water of excess of 150 metres deep.

Delivery of a second rig will follow 22-24 months after the order is placed. As with the first rig, OIM will be targeting the North Sea and harsh environment markets as well as other global markets, promising to slash operator costs because the units will be able to perform both decommissioning and P&A work simultaneously.

Indrestrand also said that OIM has an intention to go public. An Over-the-Counter listing is set to be followed by an Initial Public Offering in Oslo, planned for around 2020/2021.