Offshore drilling services

Tender description

Client requires a marine drilling and coring capability and suitable vessel to operate offshore for a drilling and coring campaign in Antarctica for up to a 2 months period between mid-December to mid-February 2019 or 2020. The priority is for the project to be conducted in 2019. However, in the event of circumstances outside of UKRI’s control, the project may be conducted in 2020. Bidders are to ensure their prices remain fixed and firm for the duration of the contract (24 Months). The client is particularly interested in using seabed drilling technology, although other options will be considered. The main objective of this Expedition is to obtain a detailed stratigraphy from key intervals above and below regional erosional and downlap surfaces to date and characterize major episodes of ice sheet advance and retreat. Client requires a marine drilling and coring capability and suitable vessel to operate offshore for a drilling and coring campaign in Antarctica for up to a 2 months period between mid-December to mid-February 2019 or 2020. The priority is for the project to be conducted in 2019. However, in the event of circumstances outside of UKRI’s control, the project may be conducted in 2020. Bidders are to ensure their prices remain fixed and firm for the duration of the contract (24 Months). The client is particularly interested in using seabed drilling technology, although other options will be considered. Along the George V and Adélie Land (GVAL) shelf of Antarctica, shallowly-buried strata contain a record of Antarctica’s climate and ice history, from the lush forests of the Eocene greenhouse to the dynamic ice sheet margins of the Neogene. The main objective of this Expedition is to obtain a detailed stratigraphy from key intervals above and below regional erosional and downlap surfaces to date and characterize major episodes of ice sheet advance and retreat. To achieve these scientific goals, multiple short boreholes, utilising the offset continuous coring technique will be employed. The boreholes are located along a slope transect inside the Mertz Polynya, starting in deep water 1070m closest to the ice edge, shallowing to 500m further offshore. Maximum budget for this project is 9 750 000 USD.