''Mr. Louie'' is a former self-elevating drilling barge (

jackup rig A jackup rig or a self-elevating unit is a type of mobile platform that consists of a buoyant hull fitted with a number of movable legs, capable of raising its hull over the surface of the sea. The buoyant hull enables transportation of the unit a ...

) converted into an

oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...

. It was the first self-elevating drilling barge classed by the

American Bureau of Shipping American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. As an oil platform, it operates at the Saltpond Oil Field, offshore

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Description

''Mr. Louie'' weighs 6200 tons. Its minimal operational water depth is . It has five tugs which pulled her around, and twelve legs for standing on the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

. It has rings welded onto its cylindrical legs to provide a positive jack connection. Its footing equivalent diameter is , and approximate footing load is .

History

''Mr Louie'' was designed by Emile Brinkmann between 1956 and 1958. The drilling barge was built by Universal Drilling Co. It was launched in 1958 and delivered in 1959. In 1958, ''Mr. Louie'' became the first self-elevating drilling barge classed by the American Bureau of Shipping. In 1959, it was leased to

Reading & Bates Transocean Ltd. is an American company. It is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor based on revenue and is based in Vernier, Switzerland. The company has offices in 20 countries, including Canada, the United States, Norway, United ...

(now part of

Transocean Transocean Ltd. is an American company. It is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor based on revenue and is based in Vernier, Switzerland. The company has offices in 20 countries, including Canada, the United States, Norway, United ...

). The rig was valued by the leasing contract at US$4.75 million. This transaction was later challenged by the United States tax authorities as a sale agreement. In 1965, the barge was sold pursuant to contractual option to Reading & Bates. ''Mr. Louie'' first drilled at the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, where it drilled more than 40 wells. Later it was transferred to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. In 1963, while drilling on the

German Bight The German Bight (german: Deutsche Bucht; da, tyske bugt; nl, Duitse bocht; fry, Dútske bocht; ; sometimes also the German Bay) is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and ...

, a pocket of very high pressure

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

struck the well, causing a blowout. The blowout created a wide and deep crater called '' Figge-Maar''. In May 1964, ''Mr. Louie'' drilled the first offshore hole in the

, off of

Juist Juist () ( nds, Juist) is an island and municipality in the district of Aurich in Lower Saxony in Germany. The island is one of seven East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea. It is located between B ...

island. In June, it made the first North Sea gas discovery. Later it was used for natural gas exploration in the UK section of the North Sea. In 1967, ''Mr. Louie'' was a part of the unique action for that time when for the first time in the North Sea, it went to dock for reparations and maintenance and was replaced by another rig (''Orion'') during the drilling. After the structural repairs and maintenance work at

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

, ''Mr. Louie'' continued drilling at the North Sea for the Gas Council –

Amoco Amoco () is a brand of fuel stations operating in the United States, and owned by BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a refinery in Whiting, Indiana, a ...

group. After the North Sea, ''Mr. Louie'' was moved to

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. In 1969, it passed through

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. Temporary moorings were needed and their setting into the rocky floor of

Gibraltar Bay The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...

required the use of the

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

air lock diving-bell plant Gibraltar Harbour's air lock diving-bell plant, or caisson diving bell barge, was a purpose-built barge for the laying, examination and repair of moorings for battleships. It was designed by Siebe Gorman & Company of Lambeth and Forrestt & Co. ...

to work at depth. Between 1977 and 1978 it drilled six appraisal wells at the Saltpond Oil Field in offshore Ghana. After completing the drilling in 1978, ''Mr. Louie'' was converted into an oil platform at this field. It was officially renamed APG-1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Louie 1958 ships Jack-up rigs Oil platforms Transocean

Description

History

See also

References