Apexindo to start drilling oil, gas wells

Apexindo to start drilling oil, gas wells

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Singapore

PT Apexindo Pratama Duta, an Indonesian oil and gas drilling service contractor, will begin drilling oil and gas production wells in Mahakam Delta, East Kalimantan.

The drilling will start at the end of March, pending the completion of its newest offshore submersible drilling rig, which is being built in Singapore by Keppel FELS Ltd.

The new rig is scheduled to be "christened" on Saturday, and will be called Raissa. On March 5, the rig will be towed from Singapore to the Mahakam Delta, and will begin operating by the end of March.

Costing some US$50 million, Raissa will expand the company's drilling assets to a fleet of 15 offshore and onshore rigs.

Raissa is part of a $140 million drilling contract from TotalFinaElf Indonesie, a multinational company that has hired Apexindo to carry out drilling services for a five-year period, said Hertriono Kartowisastro, Apexindo's president, in Singapore.

Following its merger with PT Medco Antaredja in December 2001, Apexindo's fleet expanded to 12 onshore and three offshore drilling rigs.

Raissa, which is a purpose-built offshore submersible drilling barge, is capable of drilling to 30,000 feet at 15,000 PSI.

Raissa features a cantilever platform that allows the drilling of up to six separate wells in different locations, without having to move the rig from its original position, which will save time and drilling costs, Hertriono said.