Jack-Up Collapses at Maersk-Operated Al Shaheen Field Off Qatar

Photo: Aftenbladet.no

A jack-up barge was badly damaged this week after it collapsed offshore Qatar at the Maersk Oil-operated Al Shaheen field in the Persian Gulf.

Gulf International Services said Tuesday that the accident occurred on July 5th and involved its 2014-delivered jack-up barge “Rumailah”. The accident has been described as “punch-through incident”, which left the vessel tilting to one side and partially submerged.

Photos of the jack-up published by the Norwegian news website Aftenbladet.no show rig partially submerged in water with several lifeboats surrounding vessel.

No injuries were reported.

The Rumailah is owned and operated by Gulf Drilling International, a subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS) and the largest oilfield service company in Qatar.

Maersk Oil has been operator of the Al Shaheen field since 1992. In May, state-owned Qatar Petroleum invited international oil companies to compete to operate and develop the field beyond mid-2017, when Maersk Oil’s current 25-year production sharing agreement with Qatar Petroleum ends.

The oilfield is located approximately 50 miles off Qatar’s coast and currently produces around 300,000 barrels per day, approximately 40% of Qatar’s daily oil production.

Repairs of the jack-up will take “several months”, according to media reports, and will take place at the Nakilat yard in Qatar.

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