Aker Solutions' drilling rig hull sails away from Dubai to Stord in Norway
  by: OilOnline
  Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The hull substructure for the world's most advanced drilling rig Aker H-6e has started on its 50 days journey from Dubai to Stord in Norway.  Weighing 16 000 tonnes, equalling 16 000 cars, this is one of the largest drilling rigs to be towed.  The hull is constructed by Aker Solutions at Drydocks World's Dubai yard and will be towed to Aker Solutions' yard at Stord, situated on the west coast of Norway. There it will be assembled with the topside facility and subject to further construction work prior to delivery.

The 120 meter long hull will be towed through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea, passing the western coasts of Spain and France, entering the North Sea before it reaches its final destination at Stord on the Norwegian west coast late May/early June. Details of the route and a photo are attached at the bottom of this release.

About the Aker H-6e drilling rigs

Aker Solutions has designed and is building two H-6e drilling rigs - the latest-generation of semi-submersible platforms. The H-6e rigs have been specially designed to conquer the challenges of deepwater drilling operations in harsh environments.

H-6e rigs can drill in water depths up to 3 000 meters deep, with a maximum drill string length of 10 000 meters. Drilling operations are mainly conducted within enclosed areas of the topside facilities, for safe, year-round operations. Exposed operating and inspection areas are shielded from wind and water, and a variety of heating systems compensate for Arctic-weather conditions. The H-6e hulls provide enhanced stability, so that drilling can continue in weather conditions that would require other rig designs to shut down.

The H-6e rig is the successor to the world's most widely proven semi-sumersible drilling rig design: Aker Solutions' H3 and H4 rigs, which continue to demonstrate over 30 years of excellent performance around the world. In addition to drilling rigs, Aker Solutions has delivered some of the most advanced and sophisticated field production semi-submersibles in the world, the most recent example is the Kristin platform delivered to StatoilHydro.

Two Aker H-6e rigs, Aker Spitsbergen and Aker Barents, are under construction in 2008 by Aker Solutions.

H-6e facts

• Semi-submersible drilling rig
• The world's largest and most robust rig of its kind
• Meets the strictest environmental and safety requirements worldwide
• Unmatched motion characteristics, giving minimum drilling down-time
• Designed and equipped for winter operations - even in Arctic regions
• Designed for drilling subsea wells in water depths ranging from 100 to 3000 meters
• Dynamic positioning for up to 3000-meter water depths; anchored mooring for up to 500-meter depths
• Dual RamRig(TM) drilling package - recognized worldwide
• Large payload and storage capacity
• Zero harmful discharges to sea

Developed and delivered by Aker Solutions.

The film for the rig hull sail away in Dubai can be dowloaded below:

http://download.yousendit.com/292E99CE11FF6CC1

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