JACK UPS
While F&G's L-780 series, introduced during the 1980's, was a resounding success, these new requirements called for more than a simple upgrade to the design. Towards the end of the 1990's, F&G began designing the JU-2000 class jack-up in order to meet the industry's requirement for jack-ups that could drill deeper and withstand harsher environments.
One of the first and most important enhancements designed by F&G for the JU-2000 was to include a larger and farther-reaching cantilever. The task of keeping the rig to a minimum size for cost efficiency, while at the same time making room for a larger cantilever on board, required F&G to produce innovative solutions to numerous design challenges. F&G engineers designed the deckhouse quarters, traditionally located amidships, to wrap around the forward leg. This concept made it possible to keep the rig at a minimum size and thereby reduced not only the initial cost of the rig, but also the operating cost.