Empirical models of jackup rig lightship displacement

Abstract

A jackup rig is a mobile offshore drilling unit used to drill wells to find and produce hydrocarbons. The weight of a rig is an important variable in cost estimation and determining the amount of steel required in construction. Rig weight is generally considered proprietary because it indicates design benchmarks and performance metrics that are central to the competitive nature of the construction industry. Methods to predict ship weight cannot be used for jackups because of the structural differences between jackup rigs and ships. The purpose of this note is to present an empirically-derived jackup lightship displacement function. We compile a dataset of jackup lightship displacements and develop a linear regression model that explains over 90% of the variation in rig weight.

Keywords:

• lightship displacement
• weight
• mobile offshore drilling unit
• jackup rig