Jack Bates spuds S1 well for ONGC
Transocean semi-submersible Jack Bates has finally begun work on an ONGC development well at the eastern offshore deepwater S1 field.
Well KG-OSN-DW-S-AC was 'spud' on November 10 at 1.30am in water depths of 410 metres, after a 10-day delay because of poor weather. "Bates is now driving in the 26-inch conductor casing and that is expected to take a week to 10 days," reports a source.
"Next the Blow Out Preventor will be latched on to the wellhead." Bates reached Indian waters from Singapore's Keppel FELS yard around the second week of October. ONGC wanted her deployed to location by October 30 but Cyclone Kyant intervened and she had to be towed to Chennai harbour until weather conditions improved.
Bates was then towed to location early November but "kept going round and round" as the sea currents in the wake of the cyclone were strong, preventing her from anchoring. ONGC has hired 1986-built Bates, which flies the Marshall Islands flag, on a two-year contract to drill development wells at the Vashishta and S1 fields at $127,000/day.
