Buccaneer Energy Limited has announced that the jack-up rig “Endeavour – Spirit of Independence” (“Endeavour”) earlier today mobilised from Singapore aboard the Kang Sheng Kou heavy lift vessel.
The delivery of the Endeavour jack-up rig completes the first phase of a business plan that commenced almost 2 years ago which included the acquisition of the Endeavour and the project management of the modification and repairs in Keppel FEL shipyard which was managed by Buccaneer’s internal management team.
The Endeavour project was funded through a joint venture company Kenai Offshore Ventures, LLC (“KOV”). The participants with Buccaneer in the joint venture are Singapore listed Ezion Holdings Limited, that specialises in the development, ownership and chartering of strategic offshore assets and the provision of offshore marine logistics and support services to the offshore oil and gas industries, and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (“AIDEA”). AIDEA will be investing a total of US$23.65 million into KOV on completion of the mobilisation phase.
AIDEA is a public corporation of the State of Alaska, created in 1967 by the Alaska Legislature in the interests of promoting the health, security, and general welfare of all the people of the state. Its mission statement is to increase job opportunities and otherwise encourage the economic growth of the state, including the development of its natural resources, through the establishment and expansion of manufacturing, industrial, energy, export, small business, and business enterprises.
It is expected to take approximately 21 – 28 days for Endeavour to reach the Cook Inlet, where the rig will be offloaded and towed via tug to the first well location in Buccaneer’s offshore program.
On completion of the northern Cook Inlet 2012 drilling season, anticipated in early November, it is anticipated that the rig will then be towed to the Cosmopolitan location in the ice free southern Cook Inlet to commence drilling operations.
The Endeavour is a Marathon LeTourneau 116-C jack-up rig. First constructed in 1982, it was upgraded in 2004 and was selected following a rigorous global search process.
Its existing capabilities make it suitable for most water depths that exist in the Cook Inlet and northern Alaskan waters.
[mappress] Press Release, July 31, 2012