Sagar Samrat $70m over budget
Plagued by delays and over budget, ONGC jack-up Sagar Samrat is expected to leave Abu Dhabi by November (2017) as a new Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) for the WO-16 wellhead platform at Mumbai High.
"Only 20-25% work is left," reports a source. "In 3-4 months we will finish everything." But at what cost? "The final cost will easily cross $220m," adds our source.
"Only when you start do you realise the actual cost is higher than your original anticipated cost." Still incomplete is work on the "topside, electricals and piping" plus the mechanical and hydraulic pins critical to the jack-up process. Yet hopes are high the November delivery target can be met following a successful 'inclining experiment' in April (2017) to accurately measure the vessel's centre of gravity to its width.
With a capacity to handle 30,000 b/d and 1.8m cm/d, the new MOPU with leg lengths of 110 metres, can operate in maximum water depths of 45 metres. ONGC awarded the $153m contract to Mercator Offshore and UAE-based Gulf Piping Company in November 2011 with a May 2013 project completion deadline.
