KCA DEUTAG and Bentec Unveil New Nomad Class Land Rig

KCA DEUTAG

KCA DEUTAG and Bentec Drilling and Oilfield Services have unveiled the first of a new land rig design, called the Nomad Class, jointly developed by both companies for desert terrain conditions, such as North Africa and the Middle East.

A second identical Nomad Class rig is scheduled for completion in September 2007 with further Nomad rigs currently under consideration.

More than 200 senior executives from international oil operators, drilling contractors and government authorities, attended the rig-up party for T-211, which will be mobilized in the third quarter 2007 to Algeria, North Africa to work for BP/Sonatrach under a one year contract with options with KCA DEUTAG.

Claus Chur, KCA DEUTAG Director Technical and Procurement, said: "The Nomad Class rig has been designed in response to customer demand for highly mobile and more efficient drilling rigs capable of drilling wells to 15,000ft or more. Existing rigs can take more than 10 days to move between locations whereas the Nomad Rig is designed to take 5 days to move up to 10kms between well locations over flat terrain. The Nomad Class rig is equipped with special transportation carriages which allow the derrick and drill floor substructure to be moved as complete assemblies over flat terrain conditions thereby reducing the rig disassembly and assembly times. These assemblies can also be disassembled into smaller rig packages for moves over sand dune conditions."

Believed to be the first rig of its kind developed in Europe, the Nomad Class rig took four months to develop the design concept based on Bentec's fabrication expertise and KCA DEUTAG's operating experience. As well as featuring a high level of rig mobility, the Nomad rigs incorporate special HSE features such as pipehandling equipment, derrick, anti-collision system, iron roughneck, man-riding winch, dedicated equipment maintenance platforms, and special noise insulation in the generator packages.

The rigs are equipped with a new Bentec designed mast with a 1 million lbs static hook load rating which is typically greater than similar sized rigs. It has been designed with a 'plug and play' approach to suit client requirements, such as the addition of another mud pump or generator set.

According to Norbert Gebbeken, Managing Director Commercial at Bentec, the unique design of the Nomad Class rig has generated significant interest from other operators working in North Africa and the Middle East: "We have at least another two rigs of this Class in the pipeline for other clients, who recognise Bentec's expertise in providing custom-built rigs, tailored to specific markets and clients.

"Bentec's reputation as an innovative systems manufacturer and rig builder continues to grow. Our project management skills, combined with our engineering capability and high technical standards mean that clients can rely on Bentec to supply state of the art, high quality rigs in time and on budget."


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