ConocoPhillips reported that a 9.5-million-lbm rig known as “The Beast” fell over on 23 January while being transported on Alaska’s North Slope. Eight people — two on the rig and six nearby — were treated at area clinics and released.
The accident sparked a fire, which ConocoPhillips said was contained and controlled. No damage to infrastructure was reported, and fuel delivery to the nearby town of Nuiqsut was not interrupted, ConocoPhillips said.
Efforts at the site have shifted, ConocoPhillips said, “from an initial emergency response to an environmental impact assessment and mitigation effort. … Traffic flow has resumed, and there continues to be no threat to local infrastructure or communities. The owner and operator of the rig, Doyon Drilling, is leading response and recovery efforts under a unified command structure including representatives from the state of Alaska, the federal government, and the North Slope Borough.”
Doyon says its Doyon 26 rig was designed specifically for extended-reach operations on the North Slope. The rig was delivered to the North Slope in 2020, and the Anchorage Daily News reported at the time that a modular part of the rig, the engine complex, slid off the road during its initial transportation to the site.
Baker Hughes reported the rig count in Alaska as of 23 January was nine.
In 2022, ConocoPhillips reported that "The Beast" set a record for land-based drilling, reaching a total measured depth of 35,526 ft. The drillsite in the Fiord West reservoir went on to produce 10,000 BOPD.
ConocoPhillips said the rig had the potential to reach drill depths of 40,000 ft, extending the reach from a single pad and allowing the development of 154 sq miles of reservoir from a 14-acre drilling pad.
Video of the rig’s 23 January collapse was widely shared on social media, but no source was attributed.