Jackup rig

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A jackup oil rig.

Jackup elevated on its legs

A jack-up rig or a self-elevating unit is a type of mobile platform that consists of a buoyant hull fitted with a number of movable legs, capable of raising its hull over the surface of the sea. he buoyant hull enables transportation of the unit and all attached machinery to a desired location. !nce on location the hull is raised to the re"uired elevation above the sea surface on its legs supported by the sea bed. he legs of such units may be designed to penetrate the sea bed, may be fitted with enlarged sections or footings, or may be attached to a

bottom mat.#$% &enerally Jackup rigs are not self propelled and rely on tugs or heavy lift ships for transportation. o see more details regarding 'esign, construction and installation of such platforms refer to( #)% Jack up platforms are used as e*ploratory drilling platforms and offshore and wind farm service platforms. Jackup platforms have been the most popular and numerous of various mobile types in e*istence. he total number of Jackup +'rilling+ rigs alone in operation number about ,-. by the end of ).$/. he first one was designed by 0. &. 1e ourneau for 2apata !il, owned by &eorge 3. W. 4ush, who later became the -$st president of the 5nited 6tates.
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7ame#edit%
Jack-up rigs are so named because they are self-elevating with three or four movable legs that can be e*tended 9?jacked@: above or below the hull. Jack-ups are towed to the site with the hull, which is actually a water-tight barge that floats on the waterAs surface, lowered to the water level, and the legs e*tended above the hull. When the rig reaches the work site, the crew jacks the legs downward through the water and into the sea floor 9or onto the sea floor with mat supported jack-ups:. his anchors the rig and holds the hull well above the waves.

!peration#edit%
A jackup is a floating barge fitted with long support legs that can be raised or lowered. he jackup is maneuvered 9self-propelled or by towing: into location with its legs up and the hull floating on the water. 5pon arrival at the work location, the legs are jacked down onto the seafloor. hen BpreloadingB takes place, where

the weight of the barge and additional ballast water are used to drive the legs securely into the seabottom so they will not penetrate further while operations are carried out. After preloading, the jacking system is used to raise the entire barge above the water to a predetermined height or Bair gapB, so that wave, tidal and current loading acts only on the relatively slender legs and not on the barge hull. 8odern jacking systems use a rack and pinion gear arrangement#/% where the pinion gears are driven by hydraulic or electric motors and the rack is affi*ed to the legs. Jackup rigs can only be placed in relatively shallow waters, generally less than -.. feet 9$). m: of water. 3owever, a specialiCed class of jackup rigs known as premium or ultra-premium jackups are known to have operational capability in water depths ranging from ,.. to >), feet. #-%

ypes#edit%
Mobile offshore Drilling Units (MODU)#edit%
his type of rig is commonly used in connection with oil andDor natural gas drilling. here are more jackup rigs in the worldwide offshore rig fleet than other type of mobile offshore drilling rig. !ther types of offshore rigs include semi-submersibles 9which float on pontoon-like structures: and drillships, which are ship-shape vessels with rigs mounted in the centers. hese rigs drill through holes in the drillship hulls, known as moon pools.