Kulluk
| 310px A helicopter delivers personnel to Kulluk on 31 December 2012 | |
| Career | <tr valign="top"><td>Name:</td><td>
Kulluk</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Namesake:</td><td>
Inuvialuktun for Thunder</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Owner:</td><td>
Gulf Canada (1983–1993) |
|---|---|
| General characteristics
<tr valign="top"><td>Type:</td><td>
Drill barge</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>Tonnage:</td><td>
27,968 GT | |
| Diameter: | 81 m (266 ft) (main deck)
<tr valign="top"><td>Draught:</td><td>
8 m (26 ft) (lightship) |
Kulluk is a drill barge constructed in 1983 by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding in Japan and owned by Royal Dutch Shell, currently grounded off Sitkalidak Island in the Gulf of Alaska.[6]
Career
From 1983 to 1993, the rig was operated by Gulf Canada Resources in the Canadian Arctic.[3] She was mothballed in 1993, and in 2005 she was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell and underwent intensive refurbishment.[7][8] In January 2006, Shell awarded a contract to manage and operate Kulluk to Frontier Drilling (now part of Noble Corporation).[1] In 2007, there was an industrial accident on board Kulluk while it was undergoing refurbishment, causing the death of a man.[9]
2012 grounding
On 31 December 2012, Kulluk ran aground off Sitkalidak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Up until October the rig had been working in the Beaufort Sea, off the Alaska North Slope. It was being towed to its winter home in Seattle when it encountered a storm, and the incident occurred. The US Coast Guard evacuated its 18-man crew on 29 December. On New Year's Eve, tug crews were ordered by the US Coast Guard to cut the rig loose, leading to its grounding.[10][11]
The movement of Kulluk south for the winter was motivated, at least in part, to avoid a State of Alaska property tax on oil and gas extraction equipment.[12]
It's fair to say the current tax structure related to vessels of this type influenced the timing of our departure.— Dec. 27 Email from Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith to the Dutch Harbor Fisherman[12]
The tax in question is a state property tax of 20 mills (or 2 percent) "on property used or committed by contract or other agreement for use for the pipeline transportation of gas or unrefined oil or for the production of gas or unrefined oil at its full and true value as of January 1 of the assessment year."[13] The tax liability for the rig is estimated at between 6 to 7 million dollars, based on the value of the rig;[14] however Shell may seek a filing extension to try to pay a lower tax rate given that the rig was grounded, potentially reducing its value, as of January 1st.[12]
Kulluk was carrying 138,000 US gallons (520,000 l; 115,000 imp gal) of ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, 1,000 US gallons (3,800 l; 830 imp gal) of aviation fuel and 12,000 US gallons (45,000 l; 10,000 imp gal) of lubricants. So far the Coast Guard has reported no sign of a hull breach or fuel spill.[15]
On January 6, 2013, the Kulluk was floated from the rocks. Satisfied the vessel was seaworthy, it was towed to shelter in nearby Kodiak Island's Kiliuda Bay.[16]
Design
Kulluk is ice-reinforced with 3 in (76 mm) thick, reinforced steel, and a double-sided funnel-shape hull with flared sides enabling her to operate in Arctic waters as moving ice is deflected downwards and is broken into pieces.[17] The vessel is moored with a twelve-point anchor system.[18] Its rated water depth for operations is 400 feet (120 m). Its drilling depth is 20,000 feet (6,100 m).[6]
Kulluk originally had no propulsion and had to be towed to location. In 2006, Shell contracted Aker Arctic to evaluate the feasibility of adding a thruster-aided propulsion to the drilling barge. In 2007, Kulluk was fitted with two 62-tonne, 2,000 shaft horsepower (1,500 kW) ThrustMaster hydraulic overboard azimuth thrusters, the largest ever supplied by the company, to provide the platform an ability to move between drillsites and improve its operability in ice.[1] However, before the system had been installed completely, the project was already delayed and subsequently halted due to regulatory and operational changes. In 2011, it was decided to remove the thrusters while Kulluk was on the shipyard and sell them, turning Kulluk into an unpropelled drilling barge again.[19]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Shell Alaska readies ice-class drilling units for Beaufort Sea". Oil & Gas Journal (Pennwell Corporation). 2007-01-10. http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume-105/issue-37/drilling-production/shell-alaska-readies-ice-class-drilling-units-for-beaufort-sea.html. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Kulluk (27051)". Error: {{{register}}} is not a valid registry name when using {{Cite ship register}}
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Kulluk". Marine Exchange of Alaska. http://www.mxak.org/community/kulluk/kulluk.html. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
- ↑ "Chretien Caused Gulf To Cut Fees". The Calgary Herald. 1983-10-29. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bnZkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y34NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5015,5243491. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ Barker, A. et al. (2000). Numerical Simulation of the "Kulluk" in Pack Ice Conditions. Proceedings 15th IAHR Symposium on Ice, 1, pp. 165-171, 2000-08.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Rig Data: Kulluk". Rigzone. http://www.rigzone.com/data/rig_detail.asp?rig_id=405. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
- ↑ Loy, Wesley (2006-03-04). "Shell plans Beaufort Sea drilling". The Anchorage Daily News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=110339544BDEE508&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ "Shell initiates Beaufort Sea oil exploration". Offshore Magazine (Pennwell Corporation). 2006-03-17. http://www.offshore-mag.com/articles/2006/03/shell-initiates-beaufort-sea-oil-exploration.html. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ Morin, Philippe (2007-10-08). "Investigation into death on Kulluk rig". Northern News Service. http://nnsl.com/northern-news-services/stories/papers/oct8_07dth.html. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ Diouhy, Jennifer (2013-01-01). "Shell’s Kulluk drilling rig runs aground near Alaskan island". FuelFix.com. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/01/01/shells-kulluk-drilling-rig-runs-aground-near-alaskan-island/. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ Smith, Matt (2013-01-02). "No leaks from grounded drill rig off Alaska, Coast Guard says". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/01/us/alaska-drilling-rig/index.html. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Anderson, Ben (January 3, 2013). "Did Alaska tax liability influence Shell Oil's latest Arctic fiasco?". Alaska Dispatch. http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/did-alaska-tax-liability-influence-shell-oils-latest-arctic-fiasco. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Oil and Gas Exploration, Production and Pipeline Transportation Property Taxes". http://www.tax.alaska.gov/programs/documentviewer/viewer.aspx?27s. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- ↑ Paulin, Jim; Restino, Carey (January 3, 2012). "Shell hoped to save millions in taxes by moving now-grounded drill rig out of Alaska". Alaska Dispatch. http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/shell-hoped-save-millions-taxes-moving-now-grounded-drill-rig-out-alaska. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ↑ Demer, Lisa (2012-12-31). "Shell drill rig grounds off Kodiak Island after towline failures". Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/2012/12/31/2739314/shell-drilling-rig-is-adrift-again.html. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
- ↑ Staff writers (7 January 2013). "Kulluk: Shell drill rig towed to safety in Alaskan bay". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20937504. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ↑ Pemberton, Mary (2013-01-01). "No sign that hull is breached on drill ship in Alaska". USA Today. The Associated Press. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/01/drilling-ship-runs-aground-off-alaska/1802071/. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ Callow, Lin (April 2012). Oil and Gas Exploration & Development Activity Forecast: Canadian Beaufort Sea 2012–2027 (Report). Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. p. 11. http://www.beaufortrea.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Beaufort-Sea-OG-activity-forecast-2012-2017.pdf. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ Kulluk Equipment Disposition. Retrieved on 2013-01-03.
External links
- Grounding of the Shell Kulluk oil rig off Kodiak Island, Alaska on the CIMSS Satellite Blogde:Kulluk
