In December 2019 BLCS International was contacted by Action Consultancy Bureau (Action Drilling) in Kuwait for rig-up assistance. The company required an experienced group of rig builders — consisting of a rigging supervisor and riggers — to assemble their onshore drilling rig, newly arrived from China.
The reason for engaging experienced rig builders was that this specialist crew can assemble a drilling rig safely, efficiently and in considerably less time than the on-site crew, who were unfamiliar with the equipment. For experienced rig builders this is their core business.
The drilling rig arrived in Kuwait in the second half of January 2020. The rig-up crew began work on 28 January. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, OEM representatives could not enter Kuwait, and on-site technical information was limited. Relying on drawings and support from three Chinese OEM employees who had been in Kuwait for some time, the crew assembled the mud system, mud pumps, power plant, substructure and mast in just 14 days.
Some mast components had been sent to the workshop for repair of transport damage, which prevented full completion within this timeframe — but the customer, Action Drilling, was very pleased with the performance of the rig-up crew throughout the project.
