Damen taps Mammoet for Noble jack-up rig’s leg repair work (Gallery)

Netherlands-based heavy lifting and transport provider Mammoet has been hired by Damen Shiprepair, a subsidiary of compatriot Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group, to assist with a jack-up leg repair for a rig owned by the U.S.-headquartered Noble Corporation.

After the Noble Regina Allen jack-up rig experienced a mechanical failure with the jacking system on one of its legs, it was demobilized to a port in Trinidad. In the second quarter of 2022, the jack-up started operations in Guyana for Repsol and following the completion of the campaign, the rig returned to Trinidad and Tobago to drill six wells with a different operator.

However, the contract was terminated due to extended downtime, thus, the rig was off day rates since mid-December 2022. Noble explained in January 2023 that there was no insurance for loss-of-hire, although the rig had standard insurance coverage pertaining to repairs.

The jack-up was expected to be unavailable for a substantial portion of 2023 while leg and jacking system repairs were made. The rig owner said in August 2023 that the Noble Regina Allen rig was “well positioned” to resume operations by mid-2024 upon completion of repairs. At the time, the rig was undergoing repair work in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Once the contract was signed, Mammoet was invited by Damen Shiprepair to visit Noble’s offices in Houston and present three different methodologies for carrying out the repair work to the leg, which was initially planned to be carried out using one of the Dutch firm’s PTC large ring cranes.
 
Ruud Jansen, Commercial Manager at Mammoet, commented: “The first option we presented was performing the lift using a Mammoet PTC210 crane. It would see the crane positioned on the quayside and lifting and lowering the leg into the vessel from above.
 
“The second approach was to bring a small crawler crane onto the deck of the vessel and have the repair carried out from above. The third solution was to lift the vessel using Mammoet’s Mega Jack 5200 system and carry out the repair from underneath.”
 
According to Mammoet, the project was performed by jacking up the 22,000 t drilling rig to get it back in service as soon as possible. To this end, the Mega Jack 5200 was picked to fit the project schedule. The Dutch firm claims that this solution, which is often used for jack-ups of great size and scale to enable quick mobilization and assembly, brings its own challenges.

While addressing those challenges, René van Lint, Mammoet’s Project Manager, elaborated: “We had to act quickly, especially as the drydock was only available for a relatively short period of time. Whereas normally we assemble the Mega Jack system in 15 days, we realized that we would have to do it in seven days. To achieve this, we scaled up and accelerated the schedule.”

Furthermore, the drydock had to be prepped and support blocks installed on its base before the 22,000 t rig was floated inside. Afterward, the dock was drained and the rig was lowered onto the blocks, enabling the company’s team to install the equipment underneath, using a configuration of six towers of the Mammoet Mega Jack 5200, each with a capacity of 5,200 t.

Mammoet further added that small mobile cranes and forklift trucks were used to assemble the equipment and once all the jacks were in place, the rig was lifted to a height of 35 meters. Since the leg section was measured to be 70 meters tall, it was cut into two parts to fit underneath the rig.

Moreover, the Dutch firm underlined that each section was moved into position using its self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs). After the first section was driven into position under the rig and then lifted by the rig’s jacking mechanism, the process was repeated for the second section, which was welded to the first by Damen Shiprepair, forming the complete jacking leg.

“Damen Shiprepair are our neighbors and we have been working with them for a very long time on offshore-related projects. We work together closely, and this was especially evident during this project. They trusted us and our methodology, and this has opened opportunities for similar projects to be carried out in the future, having showcased that this methodology is possible,” van Lint added.

Mammoet highlights that its flexibility and quick response to the job requirements, allowed it to carry out the work in three months, which is perceived to have significantly curbed the downtime of the rig. The firm also undertook the jacking, load-out, and float-over operations for a 19,600-tonne offshore platform topsides unit last year, which was destined for BP’s project in the Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan.

Noble’s Noble Regina Allen jack-up rig was booked in September 2023 by TotalEnergies in Argentina for a three-well contract, estimated to take 220 days, plus four one-well options. The rig arrived in Argentina five months ago at Bahía de San Sebastián, to continue with the drilling of gas wells at the Fénix platform.

The contract, scheduled to begin in mid-2024, came with an operating day rate of $150,000, excluding additional fees for mobilization and demobilization. The 2013-built Noble Regina Allen jack-up rig is of Friede & Goldman JU3000N design. It was constructed at Jurong Shipyard and can accommodate 150 people. With a drilling depth capability of 35,000 feet, this rig is capable of operating in water depths of up to 400 ft.

TotalEnergies recently started production from its Fenix field in southern Argentina. The resources from this low-emissions development are envisaged to contribute to maintaining the gas production plateau at another gas project the company is developing in the South American country’s Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

Given the current offshore drilling market fundamentals, Noble believes a step-up in drilling demand for the floater fleet is likely from late 2025 and 2026, spurring further rig reactivations.

The rig owner refers to Rystad Energy’s research to emphasize that deepwater spending of about $79 billion is expected for 2026-27 compared to 2023-25 levels estimated at $66 billion.