Work stalls on LADS rig

Kristen Nelson, PNA editor-in-chief

Work has stopped on the light automated drilling system — the LADS rig — which Phoenix Alaska Technology LLC is building for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.

Erik Opstad, vice president and general manager of Phoenix Alaska, told PNA Aug. 8 that there is a dispute between the financier of the project, NIEDI, a subsidiary of NI American Corp., and rig fabricator Heartland Rig Inc. of Dallas, Texas.

BP spokesman Paul Laird told PNA that it’s apparent to all involved — BP, Phoenix and NI — that the rig project is “pretty seriously off track.”

Delay on LADS construction is “affecting drilling planning and business planning,” Laird said. He said progress on the rig “seems to have taken a turn for the worse in the last few weeks” and work on the rig in Texas has stopped.

Laird said the rig is more than a year behind schedule and significantly over budget.

Opstad said that work stopped Aug. 3 because of a dispute between NIEDI and Heartland over payment for some of the work that has already been done.

Phoenix Alaska “is taking advantage of the hiatus to do necessary crew training and other activities to get the organization ready for operations,” he said.

Heartland Rig was not available for comment as PNA went to press.