CAMERON BURNELL/Taranaki Daily News
NIGHT LIGHT: The drillship Noble Discoverer puts on a show off the New Plymouth coast.
The vessel, which was built in 1966 and served as a log carrier before being converted into a drillship in 1972, had to run for deeper water during the April 26 storm when its mooring lines began to snap.
Noble Discover is now sheltering off New Plymouth awaiting repairs to damage to its mooring system and other mechanical componentry.
Its presence has sparked talk as to whether the vessel was fit for purpose in the first place, and whether a more robust and newer drillship or rig should have been used to drill the Ruru-1 exploration well 40 kilometres off the Taranaki coast.
But the well's operator Shell Todd Oil Services went on the offensive, describing the Noble Discoverer as a fit-for-purpose drilling rig with a long history of safe and reliable offshore operations.
"Safety systems put in place worked as they were intended to during Taranaki's adverse weather conditions last month, with no harm to people, the environment or the Ruru well," the company said in a statement, attributed to general manager Rob Jager.
The statement pointed out the Noble Discoverer was substantially upgraded and refurbished in 2001 and again in 2006, the projects including strengthening of the hull. In 2009, there was a $25 million retro-fit of the vessel's generator exhaust system to comply with modern-day emissions standards.
STOS also disputed claims the drillship was diverted to New Zealand for the Ruru project as a result of controversy last year over potential greenhouse gas it would emit during a planned drilling campaign in Alaska.
The Noble Discoverer had been identified by STOS before June last year as the most appropriate and preferred rig option for Ruru, said Mr Jager.
"At that time there was considerable uncertainty for rig activities in USA as a result of the moratorium on drilling (following the Gulf of Mexico disaster). This resulted in the opportunity for the Ruru venture to use the Noble Discoverer for drilling the Ruru well during the New Zealand summer period," he said.
STOS confirmed investigations are under way to fully understand why some of the mooring lines failed during last month's storm, and what needs to be done to prevent this in future.
Mr Jager confirmed that as winter is reducing the weather window for safe operations, the vessel may not return to the Ruru well until later this year.
Meanwhile, Maritime New Zealand is also conducting its own investigation into the incident. A spokesperson said it was not known when it will be completed.
- Taranaki Daily News
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