The World's First Jackup Drilling Rig?
I was looking at all the offshore rigs currently under construction. Got me wondering what was the world's first jackup drilling rig? I'm assuming this would be the first mobile offshore drilling unit (modu), since jackups pre-date semis and drillships. Your answers appreciated in my trip down memory lane...
Defining a jackup as a mobile and self-elevating offshore drilling platform, the first jackup built was Zapata Off-Shore's Scorpion. Construction on the Scorpion began in 1954 at LeTourneau's Vicksburg plant on the Mississippi river, and the cost came to about $3mm.
The 140 ft. jackup went to work in 1956 off the coast of Port Aransas, TX, drilling its first well for Standard Oil. Its big advantage over other platforms of the day was the Scorpion's capacity to stabilize with just 5-7 ft. of sea floor penetration where other platforms required 100 ft. of spud penetration to jack.
Mijn eerste werkgever in de off-shore drilling business 1979 on the ZAPATA Nordic .later ook op de ZAPATA Chaparel en de Explorer.
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