R o w a n To P u r c h a se T w o ' G o r i l l a ' Rigs F r o m M a r a t h on

Gene M. Woodfin, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Marathon Manufacturing Company, Houston, recently announced that the Rowan Companies, Inc. has committed to purchase two of the firm's new Class 150-88-C Gorilla jackup drilling rigs.

Mr. Woodfin stated that the delivery and final terms are yet to be worked out pending the development of detailed specifications, regulatory approvals, and contract language. "I would like to emphasize that the Gorilla rig is a new Marathon class rig," he said. "The commitment from Rowan is subject to obtaining certain regulatory approvals which should be completed by year-end." The prototype Gorilla rig is to be c o n s t r u c t e d at Marathon's Vicksburg, Miss., yard, and the second rig will be constructed at the firm's Republic of Singapore yard.

The Class 150-88-C Gorilla rig was introduced at the recent Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. It is a giant cantilevertype, jackup drilling platform designed for hostile environments like the North Sea, the south coast of Africa, the east coast of Asia, as well as the North American Atlantic coastal areas.

The Gorilla, equipped with up to 460 feet of square leg, provides stability for exploratory and development drilling in water depths up to 300 feet. When working in 150 feet of water in 115-mph winds, it can withstand waves as high as 88 feet. At a 250-foot work depth, the rig can stand up to 115-mph winds and waves to 82 feet. When working at a depth of 300 feet, and in winds to 115 mph, the rig can tolerate waves to 79 feet.

Other hostile areas in which the Gorilla is designed to operate are the high seas off the Canadian Provinces, the Cook Inlet, the Bering Sea, and the south coast of South America.

Designed to house a crew of up to 100 persons, the multi-decked Gorilla's 288-foot overall length is almost twice as long as the Marathon Class 150-44-C cantilever jackup platform that is used extensively in more shallow ocean areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, the west coast of Africa, and Southeast Asia.

The Class 150-88-C Gorilla's 292-foot width is nearly twice as wide as the Marathon Class 116 jackup platform, which heretofore was one of Marathon's largest units. The huge new rig has a hull depth of 30 feet and weighs 30 million pounds. It has a deck area of 33,000 square feet. The unit's fixed and variable load is 11,500,000 pounds.

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First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.