Off-shore drilling barges¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Pratt, W. | Roy, W.A.

Note: [1] Paper read before the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, Newcastle upon Tyne, on 15th January 1960.

Abstract: This paper gives a brief history of drilling for petroleum under water and the development of the structures used in such operations. Present-day structures arc divided into two main classes, those which are carried on submersible pontoons and those which can elevate themselves by mechanical power. Examples of each type are described. A very brief description of the drilling equipment mounted on such structures is given so that the magnitude of the weights and forces imposed upon the structures while operating can be obtained. The forces that wind and sea may impose upon the structures are enumerated and their effect on design shown. A more detailed description is included of one drill barge, the “Adma Enterprise”, now operating in the Arabian or Persian Gulf (referred to in the body of the paper as the “Arabian Gulf”). Finally, some examples of similar structures being used for purposes other thans drilling for petroleum are shown.

DOI: 10.3233/ISP-1960-77602

Journal: International Shipbuilding Progress, vol. 7, no. 76, pp. 510-522, 1960