A semi-submersible drilling rig in the Barents Sea suffered from a possible critical rig down situation. National Oilwell Varco (NOV) needed an urgent shipment of spare parts to prevent the rig staying out of service. This is how we helped them and the rig operator solving the challenge, and yes it was possible.
Provider of equipment and components for downhole solutions
National Oilwell Varco (NOV) is an American multinational corporation based in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Texas. The company is a leading worldwide provider of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, oilfield services, and supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry.
Due to a critical possible rig down situation at a semi submersible rig we were contacted by NOV Norway to perform an urgent shipment of spare parts. The spare parts needed to be transported from Stavanger to Hammerfest and that fast!
Shipping by air, truck and vessel to reach the drilling rig
Because of the critical time aspect we decided to go for an air charter and AN 12 aircraft. The AN 12 took off from Tallin on a Friday afternoon and arrived shortly after at Stavanger Airport in Sola. The pipes were loaded on the aircraft and the flight continued to Alta Airport where the goods were trucked to Polarbase in Hammerfest. The pipes arrived at Polarbase by midnight and an offshore Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) arranged the final shipment of the spare parts to drilling rig.
The mission wasn’t impossible after all! We were able to support the rig operator and we prevented the drill rig from going down with all extra cost elements involved.
Air freight charter is the best solution for time-critical shipments
Air charters may be considered expensive compared to sea freight and road transport. However, it sure gives values for the money. Transporting the same spare parts by truck would have cost 10-20 % of the air charter price. But it would also have taken a minimum of four to five days in transit. Transit times are essential in the oil and gas industry considering the high day rate of a drilling rig up to. USD 6-700.000
If you’d like to know more about different air solutions before getting your cargo up in the air, please read Up in the air with Greencarrier! We can also reveal the Top 8 advantages of air freight. For more customer case blog articles, keep an eye out on the blog!
/Georg Moltu Greencarrier Freight Services
