Abu Dhabi NDC works to drill smarter, expand fleet with refurbishment-upgrade programme

摘要

ABU DHABI NATIONAL Drilling Company has made sweeping commitments to enhancing drilling performance, improving personnel retention and training, and rigsite safety. The 26-rig contractor (10 jackups and 16 land) is also expanding its fleet, albeit cautiously with an eye toward the market, a company source explained. "Our Rig Integrity Assurance Programme (RIAP), in which all of our older rigs complete a refurbishment and upgrade programme to extend their life span by 15-25 years, offers a cost-effective and safe alternative to procuring new rigs," he said. "We have already completed two rigs, the jackups Al Ittihad and Junana, and intend to carry on at the rate of 1 rig per year." The upgrades included conversion from slot to cantilever and increasing variable deck load. The work took about 8 months on the 2nd rig upgraded, but NDC anticipates that this will be cut to as little as 6 months on future RIAP projects.