ICON wins offshore equipment contract

West Perth’s ICON Engineering has won a multi-million dollar deal to supply equipment for a new generation of offshore jack-up drilling rigs.

ICON said that its Conductor Tensioning Units would be fitted to 12 new jack-up rigs currently under construction in Singapore.

The units are installed to apply upward tension to prevent drilling rigs from buckling or moving laterally, and also help to reduce vibrations.

ICON director Garrick Aberle said the company’s units were chosen because of their well proven design, ease of operation, proven track record and the expert advice available to operators.

Mr Aberle said new generation jack-up rigs were increasingly working in water depths of up to 500 feet and the conductor must have greater support and protection in order to maintain efficiency.

This is especially crucial in areas such as offshore north-western Australiam where cyclonic conditions are prevalent.  

“The ICON CTU allows the conductor support to move vertically whilst maintaining the nominally pre-set tension and providing the necessary lateral support to the top of the conductor,” he said.

“The unit allows larger 20” and 30” conductors to be used in greater water depths and smaller surface conductors, such as 9 5/8” or 13 3/8”, to be used in a much wider range of water depths. This results in significant well cost savings, particularly for exploration.”