- Chevron Strengthens Portfolio Offshore AU with Arrival of Semisub Osprey
Friday, June 03, 2011
Chevron Corp.
The Atwood Osprey, Chevron's newly contracted ultra-deepwater semisubmersible drilling rig, has arrived in the waters off northwest Australia. Constructed in the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore, the rig will commence operations drilling and complete a queue of development wells as part of the Gorgon Project. The development drilling program scheduled for 2011 and 2012 represents the most significant investments Chevron has made in development drilling offshore Western Australia.
Chevron Australia managing director Roy Krzywosinski said Western Australia is pivotal to the company's strategy of building an internationally competitive gas business in the Asia-Pacific region. He said the company expects the Atwood Osprey to play a key role in strengthening Chevron's growing exploration, appraisal and development portfolio for at least the next three years.
"Chevron continues to make significant investments in developing Australia's natural gas resources," Krzywosinski said. "The arrival of this newly contracted rig represents our ongoing long-term commitment to grow our natural gas business in Western Australia."
Safety First
To ensure a safe startup and a strong safety culture is in place, the Australasia business unit's (ABU) drilling and completions team held three engagements with the Atwood Osprey crew to ensure Atwood's safety management system and those of our business partners were fully aligned with Chevron's expectations for operational excellence.
ABU Drilling and Completions manager Kent Springer said that through these engagements he was confident that Atwood Oceanics and its crew would achieve their vision statement of "always exceeding your expectations" and continue their commitment to safety, personal health, environmental stewardship, efficiency and reliability.
"Both Chevron and Atwood have systems in place to make the rigs as safe as possible. However, these systems are ineffective without the commitment of all our personnel, both rig- and office-based, adhering to them," Springer said. "Therefore, having members of the ABU management team—including Roy Krzywosinski—come along and tell the crew that they have their personal backing to use stop-work authority if they see an unsafe risk or behavior is a powerful message."
The Atwood Osprey can accommodate as many as 200 people, is 426 feet (130 m) tall and 377 feet (115 m) long. When moored, it will be capable of drilling as far as 31,988 feet (9,753 m). With its own mooring equipment, it can operate in water as deep as 5,905 feet (1,800 m), or 8,202 feet (2,500 m) with pre-laid mooring.
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