CIMC Raffles Cuts First Steel for Beacon Pacific Semisub at Yantai Yard

China's Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd. (CIMC Raffles) reported Tuesday that the Beacon Pacific (mid-water semisub), currently being being for Beacon Pacific Group Ltd., cut its first steel at CIMC Raffles Yantai Shipyard.

CIMC Raffles will build the semisubmersible drilling rig based on GM4-D design, tapping on experience gained from delivering four GM series semisub earlier. The yard is cooperating with Global Maritime on the basic design and will hold 80 percent ownership of the intellectual property right for the semisub.

Beacon Pacific is equipped to work in harsh-environmental areas such as the Norwegian North Sea and the Barents Sea in water depths of up to 1,640 feet (500 meters) and drill up to 26,247 feet (8,000 meters). In addition, the seimsub, which can operate at a temperature of minus 20 degree Celsius, is equipped with DP3 dynamic positioning system and 8-point mooring system, meeting NORSOK standards and DNV GL latest specifications.

CIMC Raffles delivered COSLPROMOTER (mid-water semisub) in the first quarter of 2015, with the rig named “Rig of the Quarter” by Statoil upon commencement of operations in the North Sea.

Beacon Pacific -- the seventh North Sea semisubmersible drilling rig built by CIMC Raffles and the fifteenth deepwater semisubmersible to be built by CIMC Raffles -- is scheduled to be delivered in late 2017.



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