According to the news of China Merchants Jingling Shipyard (Weihai) Co. Ltd. CMJL (Weihai), on April 19th, the cantilever beam of the platform “Guoxuan” accurately entered into the track of the platform’s first and last sliding box, completing the positioning and installation.
The platform “Guoxuan” was built by Qingdao Wuchuan Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Co., LTD. under China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). The platform mainly consists of a triangular-shaped main platform, X-Y cantilever beam, drilling system and three open truss pile legs. It has an overall length of 65.25 meters, a width of 62 meters, a profile depth of 8 meters, a pile leg length of 153.8 meters, an operating water depth of 114.3 meters, and a maximum drilling depth of up to 9,144 meters.
The platform was delivered to PowerChina Guizhou Engineering Co., Ltd. on May 1, 2021, and set to CMJL (Weihai) for modification and upgrading. On May 4, 2021, the platform officially started the wind power installation platform modification project in CMJL (Weihai). On July 21 of the same year, the platform’s offshore wind power conversion project was completed and delivered to Yangjiang, Guangdong Province for wind power installation operations.
As previously reported, in February 2021, coinciding with the rapid development of the offshore wind power industry, the supply of offshore wind power installation platforms falls short of demand. As drilling rigs can be converted to wind power installation platforms after modification, Guohai Offshore Engineering Assets Management modified two stock jack-up drilling rigs to make them suitable for offshore wind farm operations.
Guohai Offshore Engineering Assets Management, PowerChina Guizhou Engineering and Tianjin Gerun Offshore Engineering signed a bareboat chartering project for two jack-up drilling rigs and three triple-use workboats to be used for offshore wind power installation works. It is the first project in China to transform drilling rigs platforms into wind power installation platforms, and “Guoxuan” platform is one of them.
As the demand for offshore wind power installation platforms recedes, offshore oil and gas drilling, which had been in the doldrums for many years, is seeing a revival. “Guoxin” and “Guoxuan” have been converted back to drilling platforms one after another. The “Guoxin” platform has started the restoration project in October 2023 at tChina Merchants Heavy Industries Haimen shipyard (CMHI Haimen shipyard), and in January this year, the restoration project was completed and the platform was delivered.