BG rig delay amid PMT problems
With a leaking gas pipeline, now plugged, and a new 1400-tonne SWP â€کjacket’ lying on the seabed, is it any wonder the PMT consortium of British Gas, Reliance and ONGC had postponed their tender to hire a jack-up for 18 months to replace Deep Driller-4 when her six-month contract ends on April 25 “The Tapti leak had complicated matters,†comments a PMT source.
“Everything else was low priority.†By January 22 nine drillers had offered 12 rigs to replace Deep Driller-4.
“We’ve yet to open the bids,†says a PMT source. “No date has been fixed.
†Price bids were to be opened by February 11 after clarifications were received but on February 3 the SWP jacket tumbled into the Arabian Sea and last week a gas pipeline from one of the Tapti platforms sprung a leak. Earlier plans were to install the PK platform and begin drilling six new development wells with the newly hired rig before the 2009 summer monsoon begins - but those plans are also on hold.
