Houston Offshore Takes Delivery Of Two New Rigs, Orders Another

Houston Offshore International, Inc., Houston, Texas, has taken delivery on two Sabine-class rigs and has ordered the Sabine V, president Jerry E. Chiles announced recently.

The new rig will be built at Bethlehem Steel's Singapore shipyard and is scheduled for delivery in September 1982. It is not under contract at this time.

The new rig is mat supported, cantilevered and capable of working in water depths up to 200 feet.

Houston Offshore has recently taken delivery on the Sabine III from Bethlehem's Sparrows Point, Md. shipyard. It is working on location in the Gulf of Mexico for Exxon. The Sabine IV was delivered from Bethlehem's Singapore Shipyard June 15 and currently is under tow to the Gulf of Mexico. It will arrive about September 1 and begin operations for CNG Producing Co. offshore Texas and Louisiana.

H o u s t o n O f f s h o r e also announced the renewal of contracts on three of its other rigs. The Sabine II's assignment for Shell Oil Co. has been extended for a year, carrying it through April 1982. The Nueces I contract with Shell has been extended through June 1982.

The Sabine I, formerly under contract to others, also has begun operations f o r Shell under a new, three-year contract, carrying it through June of 1984.

The Sabine-class rigs provide flexibility in operational water depths and weather conditions.

They can operate in waters as shallow as 12 feet and can move on and off location safely in rough waters because of the mat.

The cantilevered drill floor permits exploratory or developmental drilling from 15 feet to 45 feet aft of the platform while cantilevered over existing wellhead structures. With hook plus setback loads of one million pounds and full size drilling equipment, the rig is ideally suited for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and similar locations.

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