One of the world’s largest oil rigs has been taken off line and docked at Harbor Island in Port Aransas, Texas. The rig arrived Thursday morning, July 28, 2016. Courtesy Photo
First expected between July 8-10, the Noble Jim Day oil rig's arrival to Port Aransas has been delayed by weather problems. No new date has been set for arrival, but it will be sometime after July 15.
The gargantuan oil rig will enter the Inner Basin at Port Aransas, headed for a home on Harbor Island, where it will join the West Sirius, which was mothballed at Harbor Island late last year.
The larger of the two, the Jim Day will add to the noise and lights that caused protests from residents across the water in Porpoise Point when Sirius was docked. The Noble Corporation, which owns the Jim Day, promises the semi-submersible rig will be warehoused with a minimum amount of lighting and generator noise. As part of the City of Port Aransas, Harbor Island residents, whether human or man-made, are expected to adhere to city ordinances governing light and noise. The island is owned by the Port of Corpus Christi.
The Noble Jim Day operated about 200 miles south of New Orleans until late last year when the company announced it was laying off about 120 workers on the rig. Caused by the global plunge in oil prices, the layoff was the first of two since November. A similar number of workers lost their jobs aboard the Noble Danny Adkins in March.
Oil from the Jim Day rig went to Shell Oil Company until its contract expired in January 2016. The now shelved rig was built in 1999 and upgraded in 2010 to operate in a water depth of 12,000 feet and drill to a depth of 37,000 feet.
No word on how long either of the rigs will remain at Harbor Island.
