14 Appointed to NOIA Board
The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) elected 14 industry leaders to its Board of Directors on April 21, 2016 during its Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Gary Luquette, President and Chief Executive Officer, Franks International, N.V. Kirk Meche, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. Richard Morrison, Regional President Gulf of Mexico, BP America, Inc. W. Matt Ralls, Executive Chairman, Rowan Companies, Inc. Jeff Platt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tidewater, Inc.
Six Mile Deep GoM Oil Strike
Chevron Corporation has announced an oil discovery at the Coronado prospect in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Walker Ridge Block 98 Well No. 1 encountered more than 400 feet (122 m) of net pay. The well is located approximately 190 miles (308 km) off the Louisiana coast in 6,127 feet (1,868 m) of water and was drilled to a depth of 31,866 feet (9,713 m). The well results are still being evaluated, and additional work is needed to determine the extent of the resource. Chevron, with a 40 percent working interest in the prospect, is the operator of the Coronado discovery well.
Next Generation Deepwater Drillship Starts Work
Chevron Corporation announced that the Pacific Santa Ana, a deepwater drillship built to Chevron's specifications, has arrived in the Gulf of Mexico to work for Chevron under a five-year contract with a subsidiary of Pacific Drilling S.A. It is the first drillship designed with the capacity to perform dual gradient drilling (DGD). Unlike conventional deepwater drilling, which uses a single drilling fluid weight in the borehole, dual gradient drilling employs two weights of drilling fluid – one above the seabed, another below. This allows drillers to more closely match the pressures presented by nature and effectively eliminates water depth as a consideration in well design.
New Orleans: Right Venue at the Right Time for IMCA
Delegates from all over the world will be gathering in New Orleans in a matter of weeks for the 19th Annual Seminar of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA). With its theme ‘The Future of Marine & Subsea Operations’, the two day event gets off to a flying start on Wednesday 9 November with a powerful keynote address session involving five key players in the industry addressing the seminar theme – to be followed the next day by a BOEMRE keynote address. “We are delighted to be welcoming IMCA President Andy Woolgar of Subsea 7…
Chevron Strikes Big in Deepwater GOM
Chevron Corporation reported that it has completed a record setting production test on the Jack #2 well at Walker Ridge Block 758 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Jack well was completed and tested in 7,000 ft. of water, and more than 20,000 ft. under the sea floor, breaking Chevron's 2004 Tahiti well test record as the deepest successful well test in the Gulf of Mexico. The Jack #2 well was drilled to a total depth of 28,175 ft. The test was conducted during the second quarter of 2006 and was designed to evaluate a portion of the total pay interval. During the test, the well sustained a flow rate of more that 6,000 barrels of crude oil per day with the test representing approximately 40 percent of the total net pay measured in the Jack #2 well.
