Offshore rig could begin drilling by October

Offshore rig could begin drilling by October

Construction of the Scarabeo 9 platform in Singapore will be completed
by the end of June, Saipem SpA, the oil services company that owns the
deep-sea drilling rig, said in its first-quarter report.

Assuming the semi-submersible leaves July 1 and an anticipated 60- to
80-day transit, it should arrive in Cuban waters by September. Scarabeo
9 could then begin drilling for a consortium led by Repsol YPF "sometime
in October, worst-case and no weather- or other related delays," said
Jorge Piñón, a Miami-based oil industry expert.

Scarabeo 9 is currently under construction at the Keppel Fels Shipyard
in Singapore. Arrival had originally been expected for early this year.
Saipem cited "modifications requested by clients and a delay in the
construction schedule" in its quarterly report. Construction of Scarabeo
9 is complicated by U.S. content restrictions.

"Everybody is anxious," Basic Industries Ministry official Rafael
Tenreyro told reporters during a recent oil conference in Havana.
"Ninety-nine percent of the platforms are late. It's normal, it's not
extraordinary."

Once the Repsol assignment is done, the Scarabeo 9 is scheduled to
perform at least four more exploratory drills through 2013 for other
oil companies in Cuban waters. The drills will be in water depths
between 400 meters (0.25 miles) and 1,500 meters (1.6 miles). Six
companies and consortia have contracted offshore 22 blocks in Cuba.

Cuban officials are hopeful to tap big oil and gas reserves in the Gulf,
saying that foreign oil companies have identified more than 20 prospects
for commercially viable finds.

http://www.cubastandard.com/2011/04/21/offshore-rig-could-begin-drilling-by-october/