A new market for western owned rigs is open in the Black Sea.
Diamond M-Odeco Drilling Inc.'s Ocean Liberator offshore drilling rig is scheduled to become the first western rig to operate in the sea, starting late this month.
Owner-operator Diamond M-Odeco, Houston, on Mar. 26 began towing the Aker H-3 semisubmersible from Falmouth, England, to a station off the coast of Bulgaria. Plans call for lowering the unit's 160 ft derrick to pass under the Bosporus bridge connecting European and Asian Turkey at the entrance to the Black Sea.
The rig, equipped with propulsion assist, is designed to work in 130-600 ft of water.
Diamond M-Odeco Pres. Robert E. Rose said Ocean Liberator is scheduled to drill four wells in the Black Sea for various operators.
Rose said the contracts could provide opportunities in the region in the same way that drilling off the southern coast of Chile established a relationship with Chilean national oil company Empressa Nacional de Petroleo (ENAP). By being the first company to take a rig to Chile's territorial waters, the company began a relationship with ENAP that endured for more than 15 years.
"Several energy companies have announced plans to explore under Bulgarian waters in 1994," Rose said.
Ocean Liberator at first is to be based at Balcik and later at Varna, both Bulgarian cities on the Black Sea.
Rig Manager Steve Nelson will maintain an office at Diamond M-Odeco's North Sea headquarters at Aberdeen, Scotland. The rig's crew will be composed of Bulgarian workers and American and British personnel who for several years operated the unit in the North Sea.
Diamond M-Odeco's fleet includes 20 semisubmersibles, 14 jack ups, one drillship, and one platform rig.
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