16 August, 2011, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Oando Energy Services Limited (OESL), a subsidiary of the Oando Group, said its flagship swamp drilling rig – OES Integrity- has achieved a milestone of two years drilling operations without Loss Time Injury (LTI). OES Integrity, one of Oando’s four rigs operating in the swamps, marked two years of operation on August 8, 2011.
LTI is a measure of injury sustained on the job that is capable of preventing a worker from performing or continuing with a task or resulting in a downtime in the operation. It is an oil and gas industry benchmark that evaluates adherence to safety and environmental requirements in the course of operations.
The head, Corporate Communications at Oando, Meka Olowola, in a statement said OESL’s Integrity swamp rig was contracted to a leading international oil company in December 2009 and has successfully drilled, completed and worked over more than 10 wells during the campaign, without any show-stopping incident.
The rig is a 3,000 hp modern swamp barge equipped with 15,000 psi blowout preventers (BOP) and designed to drill High Pressure/ High Temperature (HPHT) wells to depths of 30,000 feet. OES Integrity is the only swamp rig in Nigeria, capable of drilling exploration, appraisal and challenging development wells.
Unlike most conventional rigs that require the driller to manually drill and hold the brake during drilling operations, OES Integrity auto drilling capabilities allow for the option of automating the drilling process.
Chief Executive Officer, OESL, Mr Uche Dimiri, said: “Safety is the hallmark of any upstream operation. The health and safety of our employees and those visiting our workplace are of utmost importance at Oando Plc. We believe we have an obligation to ensure that employees are aware and have imbibed the Oando culture of uncompromised safety and environment protection.”
