M/s. Mercator Oil & Gas Limited, subsidiary of Mercator has been awarded a contract by ONGC Ltd. for conversion of their Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (“MODU”) “Sagar Samrat” into Mobile Offshore Production Unit (“MOPU”).
According to SNP Infra Research Solutions, the cost of conversion of Sagar Samrat MODU into a offshore production unit would be around USD 185 million.
Sagar Samrat is of Offshore Company Mercury Class design, built in 1973 by Mitsubishi in Japan. ONGC took delivery of the jack-up rig in 1974 and after drilling 131 wells, the rig was decommissioned in 2005.
SNP said on its website that conversion of old jack up rigs to mobile offshore production units was already a proven concept, which is faster and cheaper when compared to the option of procuring a newbuild facility, and it is also techno-economically feasible solution for fast track development of marginal fields.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff , November 17, 2011;