No. ADG 85 of 2013

IN THE FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ADELAIDE REGISTRY

IN THE MATTER OF: MALCOLM ROY BENDALL RIG ASSIST PTY LTD (ACN 075 814 390) Applicant Creditor MALCOLM ROY BENDALL Respondent Debtor CERTIFICATE I Malcolm Roy Bendall certify that the following 10 pages constitutes the exhibit marked MRB6 of my Affidavit sworn in London of the 7th day of July 2013. Signed:

Thylacine  Drilling  Consulting  

199a  Tranmere  Road  

TRANMERE  TAS  7018  

17  June  2009  

 

Paul  Heath  

Chief  Operating  Officer  

Great  South  Land  Minerals  Ltd  

 

Dear  Paul  

 

RE:   MODUSPEC  INSPECTION  

 

I  think  we  need  to  make  it  clear  that  Moduspec  are  not  a  regulatory  board,  and  that  inspections  are  often  done  to  appease  the  client  before  they  accept  the  rig.    How  far  we  go  with  their  recommendations  are  up  to  us  as  the  client.    However  the  inspections  are  also  done  to  make  sure  the  rig  complies  with  local  HSE  requirement  and  legislation  and  contractual  requirements.    

 

To  be  perfectly  honest,  the  Drilling  contractor  has  a  certain  amount  of  ill  feeling  towards  Moduspec.    This  is  because  an  inspector  comes  out  to  the  rigsite  and  basically  can  give  the  rig  a  bad  bill  of  health.    This  would  mean  the  rig  could  lose  its  contract  and  find  itself  out  of  work.    We  know  that  a  certain  amount  of  work  has  been  done  already  and  according  to  Hunt,  they  have  completed  the  recommendations  that  Moduspec  reported.  

 

I  arrived  at  the  Bellevue  #1  rig  site  on  Monday  15  June  to  conduct  a  brief  inspection  of  the  possible  outstanding  critical  items  that  were  reported  on  the  most  recent  Moduspec  report.    The  rig,  as  you  know,  has  already  started  to  de-­‐mob  and  on  Thursday  18  June,  they  will  continue  the  operation  to  rig  down  and  move  to  another  location.    I  was  unable  to  inspect  several  of  the  recommendations  made  by  Moduspec  due  to  the  present  position  of  the  rig  being  in  a  state  off  rig  down,  so  I  was  not  able  to  inspect  the  status  of  some  of  the  items  

that  Hunt  had  said  they  had  changed.    However,  what  I  was  able  to  see,  complied  with  the  recommendations  and  would  be  accepted.  

The  normal  practise  before  we  spud  in,  is  for  the  client  (  GSLM  )  and  Hunt  to  get  together  with  a  “Pre  Spud  list  “.    This  usually  entails  a  performance  test  with  the  Drawworks  running  and  the  rotary  table  running  for  an  hour  at  low  speed  and  hi  speed.  The  Mud  pumps  would  also  be  run  through  a  closing  choke  to  get  pressure  up  on  the  power  paks  to  see  if  the  rig  can  handle  the  load.    The  pumps  would  then  be  run  at  maximum  rate  over  the  hole  for  an  hour.    You  would  then  go  through  the  safety  requirements  of  what  is  required  to  run  the  operation  safely  and  what  is  needed  to  comply  with  local  area  legislation.    However,  if  I  was  to  go  through  the  Moduspec  report,  one  would  find  that  many  of  the  recommendations  had  not  been  done,  because  the  rig  was  not  yet  ready  to  drill,  and  many  of  the  said  recommendations  would  have  been  completed  prior  to  spudding  in  the  well  as  per  the  requirement  of  the  “Pre  Spud  list”.    So,  I  think  that  Hunt  were  right  to  have  a  certain  bitch  with  the  report.    If  I  was  to  take  item  11.4.1.5  and  11.4.1.6,  these  items  which  are  classed  as  “critical”,    these  would  normally  be  done  before  pre  spud  and  would  be  completed  by  the  Derrickman  as  part  of  his  safety  check  list.    There  are  many  of  these  items  that  would  have  been  normally  closed  out  as  a  matter  of  practise.    We  would  also  check  all  documentation  that  requires  the  operation  to  go  ahead  and,  when  the  paperwork  is  in  order,  the  Drilling  rig  is  ready  to  turn  to  the  right.  

 

I  was  able  to  check  75%  of  the  required  recommendations  and  what  I  have  done  is  compiled  a  few  of  those  and  confirm  the  changes  had  been  implemented  and  that  some  items  need  to  be  looked  at  again.      

5.13.1.4  

The  Toku  400kg  does  say  on  it  that  it  is  a  dedicated  Man  Rider,  Hunt  says  on  their  recommendation  that  it  is  “not”  a  dedicated  Man  Rider.  We  need  to  confirm  this  as  a  critical  item.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.17.6.1.2  

On  inspection  there  was  found  to  be  chains  broken  on  these  fingers,  Moduspec  have  said  that  the  chains  need  to  be  installed  half  way  along  the  length,  so  as  to  avoid  one  breaking  and  falling  to  the  drill  floor.    This  can  be  argued  as  a  little  bit  over  the  top  as  many  rigs  just  have  the  small  piece  of  chain  welded  to  the  finger  to  keep  it  from  falling  if  it  snapped  off.    It  is  unlikely  that  the  finger  would  snap  in  half  as  it  is  in  one  piece.    However,  Hunt  have  offered  to  modify    this  prior  to  the  next  mast  inspection.  

 

 

Note:  Broken  weld  on  chain  and  the  finger.  Moduspec  recommending  that  the  chain  is  extended  halfway  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.10.1.3  

This  item  was  deemed  as  critical  and  I  have  visually  inspected  to  modification  and  it  seems  to  be  in  order,  however  I  did  not  get  to  see  the  Hi  Pressure  welding  inspection  certificate.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.1.2.1  

The  expansion  joints  have  been  lagged  as  per  the  recommendation.  

 

 

5.17.1.1.3  

This  item  has  been  itemised  as  being  critical,  however  the  rig  has  operated  for  over  20  years  with  this  equipment  and,  although  it  is  antiquated,  it  has  worked  well  in  the  past  and  I  believe  that  it  meets  the  regulatory  requirements.  However,  Hunt  are  looking  to  go  forward  with  the  implementation  of  automated  tubular  handling  equipment  and  this  would  reduce  tripping  times  and  would  be  a  cost  advantage  to  GSLM.  

 

5.17.4.1.1  

This  item  was  deemed  critical,  however  the  Elevator  links  have  been  checked  and  found  to  be  well  within  acceptable  limits.    The  paperwork  and  certification  once  viewed  will  verify  the  findings.  

In  Conclusion  

The  Rig  and  its  components  seem  to  be  up  to  a  certain  standard  -­‐  you  get  what  you  pay  for  and  we  know  it  has  drilled  many  holes  and  is  old.    It  has  its  limitations,  therefore  we  should  expect  certain  problems  with  the  Rig.    In  my  experience  with  Moduspec,  I  have  found  that  if  I  was  working,say  on  a  Semi-­‐Submersible,  and  that  Moduspec  were  called  into  do  an  inspection  and  audit,  they  would  most  likely  send  2  to  3  inspectors.    One  would  have  Mechanical/Electrical  experience,  the  other  two  would  most  likely  have  Drilling  /  Safety  and  Marine  experience.    So,  what  we  may  have  had  on  Hunt  #3,  was  an  inspector  who  may  have  had  experience  in  any  one  of  these  fields,  but  was  not  classed  as  totally  experienced  in  small  on-­‐shore  operations.    Some  of  the  recommendations  looked  at  being  a  little  over  zealous,  therefore  putting  the  operation  of  the  rig  in  doubt.    On  my  part,  and  seeing  what  I  have  over  the  past  week,  the  rig  has  complied  with  most  of  the  recommendations.    What  is  required  is  the  rig  to  be  rigged  up  and  Hunt  saying  to  us  that  they  are  ready  to  go.    They  must  also  show  us  that  the  recommendations  that  have  not  been  completed,  will  be  and,  if  not,  why.  

I  still  have  serious  doubts  about  the  power  that  is  available,  and  would  like  to  see  and  hear  Hunts  views  on  this.    They  have  said  that  the  rig  is  capable  of  lifting  the  drill  string  at  a  depth  of  2800  meters,  however  ,if  we  get  into  serious  down  hole  problems  and  we  require  opull  to  get  out  of  the  hole  we  may  find  us  lacking.  This  could  have  serious  ramifications.    If  Hunt  is  in  agreement  with  this,  we  may  have  to  change  the  design  of  the  drill  string  and  run  a  tapered  one  instead.  

Regards  

David  Dunsby  

Thylacine  Drilling  &  Consulting