ILE DE FRANCE LEAVING ROTTERDAM.




Initials PBS/V/RM/OS



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: AN OFF-SHORE DRILLING RIG, THE 2,700-TON ILE DE FRANCE, LEFT ROTTERDAM TODAY TO BEGIN A SEARCH FOR OIL LASTING TWO YEARS OFF THE COAST OF SENEGAL IN WEST AFRICA.

THE ILE DE FRANCE HAS BEEN BUILT IN HOLLAND FOR A FRENCH OIL COMPANY. THE RIG WAS TOWED FROM ROTTERDAM BY FIVE TUGS. THE VOYAGE TO THE AFRICAN COAST WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS.

THE ILE DE FRANCE IS A SELF-ELEVATING PLATFORM, 181 FEET (55 METERS) LONG, 175 FEET (53 METRES) WIDE AND WITH A DEPTH OF 25 FEET (ABOUT 8 METRES).

IT WILL BE ABLE TO DRILL IN NEARLY ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS IN WATER UP TO 200 FEET (60 METRES) DEEP. IT WILL DRILL BORES UP TO 19-THOUSAND (500 FEET) (6000 METRES) INTO THE EARTH'S CRUST.

THE LEGS OF THE RIG ARE 292 FEET (89 METRES) LONG, AND THE WHOLE CRAFT HAS BEEN SO DESIGNED THAT IT CAN SAFELY STAND ON THREE LEGS INSTEAD OF FIVE.

THE DRILLING TOWER STANDS 140 FEET (43 METRES) ABOVE THE DECK, AND THE DRILLING APPARATUS IS OPERATED BY HEAVY DUTY DIESEL ENGINES DEVELOPED SEVERAL THOUSAND HORSE-POWER.

ILE DE FRANCE WILL CARRY A CREW OF 54 MEN, INCLUDING RIGGERS, TECHNICIANS AND SCIENTISTS. CREW ACCOMMODATION IS AIR-CONDITIONED, AND APART FROM THE USUAL CABIN FACILITIES, THERE IS A DINING ROOM, A RECREATION ROOM AND AN UP-TO-DATE LABORATORY.