''Scarabeo 8'' is an ultra deepwater 6th generation
semi-submersible
Semi-submersible may refer to a self-propelled vessel, such as:
*Heavy-lift ship, which partially submerge to allow their cargo (another ship) to float into place for transport
*Narco-submarine, some of which remained partially on the surface
*Se ...
drilling rig
A drilling rig is an integrated system that Drilling, drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to ...
. It is owned and operated by
Saipem
Saipem S.p.A. (Società Anonima Italiana Perforazioni E Montaggi lit. ''Drilling and Assembly Italian Public Limited Company'') is an Italian multinational oilfield services company and one of the largest in the world. Until 2016 it was a subsi ...
. The vessel is registered in
Nassau,
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...
.
[
]
Description
''Scarabeo 8'' is an ultra deepwater 6th generation semi-submersible drilling rigs. It is designed by Moss Maritime
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hornw ...
and its design type is CS50 MKII.[ The rig is able to operate at the water depth up to , which is classified by the oil industry as "ultra-deepwater", and its drilling depth is .][
''Scarabeo 8'' has a length of and a breadth of .][ Its height to the drill floor is , height to the upper deck is , and height to the main deck is . Its designed draught at operation is and designed draught at transit is .][
] Its gross tonnage is 35,304, dead weight tonnage 14,508, and net tonnage 10,592 tonnes.[ It is self-propelling having a maximum speed up to and an average speed of .][
][
] The vessel is made up of two hulls, six columns and a main deck where the drilling plant and platform services are installed. It has 128 single cabins for accommodation. With some doubles, allowing for 140 personnel in total. The rig is equipped with two deck cranes and one knuckle boom. It also has a helideck
A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft.
While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked har ...
suitable for Sikorsky S-61N
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft.
The commercial version of the Sea King was developed during the ...
and Sikorsky S-92
The Sikorsky S-92 is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the civil and military helicopter markets. The S-92 was developed from the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter and has similar parts such as flight contro ...
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...
s.[
]
Construction and delivery
The rig was ordered on 10 June 2005.[ Its hull was built at the ]Sevmash
JSC PO Sevmash ( rus, ОАО «ПО „Севмаш“», Севмаш, СМПСМП, "Severodvinsk Machine Building Plant") is a Russian joint-stock company (JSC) under the vertically-integrated United Shipbuilding Corporation. The shipbuilding ...
yard in Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk ( rus, Северодвинск, p=sʲɪvʲɪrɐdˈvʲinsk) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
.[
][
]
In 2007, the hull was moved to the shipyard in Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
where Fincantieri
Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (20 ...
carried out topsides construction.[
] On 24 June 2010, a fire incident took place when the fire started in the ventilation system.[ The fire was believed to be an act of sabotage by workers.][ No one was hurt in the incident.][
] However, as a result of this incident, the rig needed massive replacement of pipes, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, steel details and paint. About of cables were replaced.[
]
After that incident ''Scarabeo 8'' was moved from the Fincantieri yard in Italy to Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
for repairs and final completion.[
] In this voyage it was towed by two tow boat
A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a sq ...
s.[
] The rig was winterized for working in Arctic conditions and commissioned in the Westcon yard in Ølensvåg
Ølensvåg or Ølsvågen is a village in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the southwestern end of the Ølsfjorden, along the European route E134 highway, just west of the municipal centre of Ølensjø ...
.[ The rig went through a sea trial period in the beginning of 2012.][
] It was christened on 3 April 2012.[
Originally, the rig was to be ready in the third quarter of 2009.][
][
] However, due to different accidents and delays it was commissioned only in 2012. The license to drill in Norwegian waters was delayed several times due to non-conformities with Norwegian regulations. Non-conformities were found in areas such as the management system for use of lifting equipment, offshore cranes for pipe handling, emergency operation of lifting appliances, access to electrical equipment, safety barriers, storage facility for helicopter fuel, as well as design-related issues covering materials handling and working environment.[
][
][
] In October 2011, a contract worker working at the construction was killed by a fatal accident.[
]
Operations
The first well to drill by ''Scarabeo 8'' is at the Statoil
Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. ...
-operated Odden prospect in the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. After that, the rig will drill at the Eni
Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven " supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 ...
-operated Salina and Bonna prospects in the Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian ter ...
before starting drilling at the Eni-operated Goliat field
Goliat field is an offshore oil field in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. It is located northwest of Hammerfest.
The license is owned by Vår Energi AS (operator, 65%) and Equinor ASA (35%). It was awarded in 1997. Oil was discover ...
.[
]
On 4 September 2012 the rig, drilling at the Salina prospect, was reported as having a 5.7-degree list caused by seawater coming into the ballast water tank.[
][
]
References
{{List of ships built by Fincantieri
2007 ships
Drilling rigs
Semi-submersibles
Ships built by Sevmash
Ships built in Italy
Ships built in Norway
Ships of the Bahamas
Eni
Ships built by Fincantieri