INPEX Spuds-In with the ENSCO 5006 Offshore WA

ENSCO 5006 semi-submersible drilling rig, image via INPEX

On 3 February, the ENSCO 5006, while operating on contract for INPEX, commenced drilling at the Ichthys gas-condensate field located about 200 kilometers off the Western Australian coast.

INPEX says the rig had just arrived at the field following a major shipyard period in Singapore.

Managing Director Ichthys LNG Project Louis Bon, notes, “this campaign will target the Brewster reservoir with 20 production wells.”  This reservoir, he says, is located about 4,000 to 4,500 meters beneath the seabed.

The development drilling project will use directional drilling technology via five drilling centers, each designed to accommodate between 4 and 6 wells.

The ENSCO-5006 will be joined at a later date by Transocean’s semi-submersible drilling rig, Jack Bates.

Crews and supply boats for both rigs will transfer via a dedicated offshore logistics base in Broome, Western Australia.

The next Ichthys LNG Project milestone, scheduled to commence in the coming weeks, will be the start of the deepwater pipelay for the Project’s 889 kilometre-long gas export pipeline.

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