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Drilling Technology News

31 Oct 2022

VIDEO: One-on-One with Pieter van Oord, CEO, Van Oord

Pieter Van Oord, CEO, Van Oord, graces the cover of the June 2022 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News.

Pieter van Oord is candid in discussing the future growth of his storied company’s activities in offshore wind with specific insights on challenging current jobs, Van Oord’s recent order of a massive and groundbreaking Wind Turbine Installation Vessel, and the company’s future working in the United States.Pieter, to start, can you give a ‘By the Numbers’ look at your company today using the metrics of your choice?Well, 2021 was a disappointing year for us. As we said in our annual report…

17 May 2022

First Jack-up Rig Built for IMI Loaded Out

Image Credit: IMI (Supplied)

International Maritime Industries (IMI), which describes itself as the largest shipyard in the MENA region, and offshore construction firm Lamprell on Tuesday announced the successful completion of the load-out and float-off of the first jackup drilling unit being constructed for IMI.The jack-up rig will now undergo intensive mechanical completion and commissioning before being transferred to IMI’s yard in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, for final commissioning before going on a contract…

17 Nov 2021

Geoquip Marine Accused of Jones Act Violations

(Photo: Geoquip Marine)

An American offshore services trade group is accusing Swiss-headquartered Geoquip Marine of violating the Jones Act, a U.S. law requiring seaborne cargo shipped between two U.S. points to be carried by American-built, -crewed and -owned vessels.A report published by the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) alleges that Geoquip Marine's Geoquip Saentis—a Chinese-built, foreign-crewed and Bahamian-flagged vessel—transported subsoil samples from points on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to U.S. ports for testing in support of an offshore wind project."U.S. wind power should mean U.S.

03 Aug 2021

Subsea Mining: All Eyes on Marine Minerals Offshore Norway

In July, Allseas’ ‘Hidden Gem’ heads to Tenerife for drydock modifications ahead of a collector “wet-test” in the Atlantic at the end of 2021 and the official start of pilot mining tests in the Pacific, 1200 nautical miles west of Mexico, in 2022. Photo from Allseas.

Marine minerals are coming under sharp focus offshore Norway. Analysts suggest it could be a $20 billion annual revenue industry by 2050, which is why many are taking an interest and developing the technology to make it happen. Marine mineral mining has been something of a slow burner in the wider marine world. It has some clear challenges, not least location and depth of these potential resources, but also concerns around its environmental impact.Yet it now appears to be coming into a distinctly sharp focus…

24 Oct 2018

Blackstone Energy Partners Acquires Ulterra Drilling Technologies

Blackstone Energy Partners announced today that it has entered into binding agreements to acquire a controlling, majority interest in Ulterra Drilling Technologies from affiliates of American Securities LLC. American Securities and certain members of management will retain a minority equity interest in the Company going forward. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close prior to year-end 2018. Ulterra is the largest pure-play, independent supplier of polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) drill bits to the oil and gas industry. The Company is one of the fastest growing PDC drill bit manufacturers, having more than doubled total revenue since 2016. Ulterra currently has a leading position in many of the most active U.S.

21 Mar 2018

Record-size US Offshore Oil Lease Sale Draws Modest Bidding

Š Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

Oil and gas drillers bid modestly on Gulf of Mexico acreage in the largest lease sale in American history on Wednesday, dealing a setback to the Trump administration's efforts to rapidly pump up investment in the region. The Interior Department had offered up a record 77 million acres (31.2 million hectares) for development in the Gulf with discounted royalty rates on the shallower tracts as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to ramp up U.S. fossil fuels output.

08 Mar 2018

Bjørnar Iversen Resigns as CEO of Songa Offshore

Bjørnar Iversen, CEO of Songa Offshore SE, has resigned effective 6 March 2018 said a single sentence press statement from the company. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act, said the statement. Before joining the company in June 2013, Iversen was a member of the executive leadership team at Odfjell Drilling AS. During his 17 year's tenure at Odfjell Drilling, he has been executive vice president for Corporate Business Development, Odfjell Drilling Technology and Odfjell Well Services. His latest position was President and CEO of Odfjell Galvao Ltda in Brazil.

23 Oct 2015

Drilling the Earth’s Mantle Beneath the Atlantic

Robot drills on RRS James Cook's deck (Photo: NOC)

A team of scientists will set sail from Southampton to drill through the Earth’s mantle in the center of the Atlantic Ocean. They leave on board the Royal Research Ship James Cook on October 26, 2015 to explore the Atlantis Massif, a 4000 meter high underwater mountain. This is the first time a UK research ship will be used for this branch of science. The expedition is conducted by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).

02 Dec 2014

An Open Arctic and its Impact on Oil Drilling

William Cho, Head of MatthewsDaniel Weather, a division of the Bureau Veritas Group, explains why improvements in drilling technologies and weather monitoring systems have made offshore shelf drilling operations in the Arctic Circle increasingly attractive to upstream oil and gas companies and their investors. Rising crude oil prices motivate not only technological innovators to explore cheaper alternative energy sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines, but also upstream oil and gas companies to explore new oil reserves which had not otherwise been economical.

28 Aug 2014

Warming Aids Arctic Economies, but Short of 'Cold Rush'

Photo: Northern Sea Route Information Office

Climate change is aiding shipping, fisheries and tourism in the Arctic but the economic gains fall short of a "cold rush" for an icy region where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the world average. A first cruise ship will travel the icy Northwest Passage north of Canada in 2016, Iceland has unilaterally set itself mackerel quotas as stocks shift north and Greenland is experimenting with crops such as tomatoes. Yet businesses, including oil and gas companies or mining firms looking north, face risks including that permafrost will thaw and ruin ice roads, buildings and pipelines.

04 Aug 2014

Armed with New Technology, Oil Drillers Revisit Gulf of Mexico

Advances in drilling technology are reviving the prospects of oil companies in shallow parts of the Gulf of Mexico, helping to squeeze more from older fields while the U.S. shale bonanza lures others onshore. Apache Corp and a handful of smaller independent companies are using seismic surveying and horizontal drilling - techniques perfected during the onshore fracking boom - to tap mature fields and find hidden reserves on the shelf. The methods appeal to investors hungry for the quick profits that cannot be delivered by deepwater drilling, where a dozen years of planning and billions of dollars in investment can be required to get oil pumping.

08 Jun 2014

CIMC Raffles Delivers Jack-up Rig to Sinopec

A Jack-up Drilling Rig which was constructed by CIMC Raffles with Sinopec Independent design named “New Sheng Li 1#” was delivered to Sinopec Sheng Li Petroleum Engineering Co., Ltd. at CIMC Raffles on 6th June 2014. This was the 7th Jack-up drilling rigs that CIMC Raffles has delivered. It will be towed to Bohai Bay providing drilling service to Sinopec Sheng Li Oilfield soon. CCS and CIMC Raffles top  leaders attended the delivery ceremony. “New Sheng Li 1#” was the first new-build offshore drilling rig since Sinopec Oilfield Service Corporation was founded in 2012. The basic design and detail design was done by Sheng Li Drilling Technology Research Institute, the shop design and construction design was completed by CIMC Raffles. Equipment localization rate reaches above 90%.

27 May 2014

Shelf Drilling Sings 5-Yr Contract For 2 Newbuild Jackups

Shelf Drilling, Ltd. today announces that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded contracts for two newbuild jackup rigs by Chevron Thailand, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation (NYSE : CVX). The two drilling contracts are for a five-year term each and the newbuild rigs are scheduled to commence operations offshore Thailand during the first and third quarter of 2017 respectively. The estimated revenues which could be generated over the five-year contract term are approximately USD 281 million for each rig, excluding revenues for mobilization, demobilization and miscellaneous adjustments. In connection with the contracts, Shelf Drilling will commission two fit-for-purpose newbuild jackup rigs based on the MLT Super 116 E design. A subsidiary of Shelf Drilling, Ltd.

30 Apr 2014

The History of Offshore Energy

Gracing the cover of the June 1, 1957 edition was a  “Huge Oil Drilling Barge” the Margaret which was one of the largest ever built at 300 ft. long, 200 ft. wide and 93 ft. high, capable of an operating depth of 65 ft. Margaret was built by Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company for the Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company, New Orleans.

Offshore exploration is a history of man v. Prospecting for oil is a dynamic art. From a lake in Ohio, to piers off the California coast in the early 1900s, to the salt marshes of Louisiana in the 1930s, to the first “out-of-sight- of-land” tower in 1947 in the Gulf of Mexico, the modern offshore petroleum industry has inched its way over the last roughly 75 years from 100 ft. of water ever farther into the briny deep, where the biggest platform today, Shell’s Perdido spar, sits in 8,000 ft. of water. As a planet, we have two unquenchable thirsts – for water and for oil.

07 Apr 2014

Gudrun on Stream

The Gudrun platform (Photo: Harald Pettersen/Statoil)

At 7:25 a.m. on April 7, Statoil and its partners (GDF SUEZ and OMV) started production on the Gudrun oil and gas field in the North Sea. "Gudrun is the first new Statoil-operated platform to come on stream on the Norwegian continental shelf since 2005. This is a red-letter day for the company," said Arne Sigve Nylund, Statoil's executive vice president for the Development and Production Norway business area. The new field contributes to important production from the Norwegian shelf. Statoil expects to recover 184 million barrels of oil and gas (oil equivalent) from the field.

06 Feb 2014

UMW Orders another Jackup Rig from Keppel

UMW NAGA 4 was delivered in February 2013.

Keppel FELS Limited, a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has secured a contract from UMW Drilling 8 Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UMW Oil & Gas Corporation Sdn. Bhd., for a KFELS B Class jackup rig worth $218 million (USD). It will be the third KFELS B Class jackup rig for UMW Oil & Gas and is scheduled for delivery in 3Q 2015. The first jackup - UMW NAGA 4 - was delivered in February 2013 and the second - UMW NAGA 5 - is expected to be completed by 2Q 2014.

04 Feb 2014

Oil Discovered in Second Oman Exploration Well

Aban Vll: Photo courtesy of Rex International

Masirah Oil Limited has announced the successful reach of the well target depth in the second exploration well in Block 50 Oman to its final depth of >3,000 metres into the Cambrian formation. Hydrocarbons were discovered in several formations with good oil sample extracted. The well will undergo data acquisition before setting the completion for testing. The well was drilled using the independent leg cantilever jack-up drilling rig Aban VII. Mr Hans Lidgren, Chairman of Masirah…

09 Jan 2014

Fugro’s Offshore Wind Farm Drill Ready

The new T120 drill on top of the Conductor (framework that lifts it above the waves) all in yellow, and also showing the down hole equipment in blue. It will be configured as shown here and attached to the orange steel frame which is fixed to the deck of the transport installation vessel (TIV).

Fugro Seacore is building a pile top drill, the T120, for the offshore wind farm market to assist with monopole installations of up to eight meters diameter. The development represents a significant step forward in capacity, as Its current big drill has 90 metric tons of rotational torque; the new one will have 120 metric tons. This new addition to the fleet means they will have two drills capable of relief drilling piles of larger than six-meter diameter simultaneously, for instances where larger monopiles are the chosen foundation for the wind farm sites of round three in U.K.

25 Nov 2013

Rex International Joint Entity Spuds First Well in Oman

Rex International Holding Limited, one of the largest companies listed on the Catalyst of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, announced that its jointly-controlled entity, Lime Petroleum Plc, through its subsidiary Masirah Oil Ltd., has begun drilling and exploration well in Masirah North North #1 (MNN #1), located in the Block 50 Oman concession, on November 25, 2013. This is part of a two-well drilling program in the concession. The prospect MNN #1, which is about 1,000 meters in depth, was selected for drilling after in-depth technical evaluation and verification using the proprietary Rex Virtual Drilling technology, in addition to confirmations provided via conventional methodologies.

18 Nov 2013

Furgo’s New Offshore Wind Farm Drill Readies for Action

The new T120 drill on top of the Conductor (framework that lifts it above the waves) all in yellow, and also showing the down hole equipment in blue. It will be configured as shown here and attached to the orange steel frame which is fixed to the deck of the transport installation vessel (TIV).

Specialist overwater drilling and marine construction contractor Fugro Seacore is building a pile top drill, the T120, for the offshore wind farm market to assist with monopole installations of up to eight meters diameter. Their current big drill has 90 metric tons of rotational torque; the new one will have 120 metric tons. This new addition to the fleet means they will have two drills capable of relief drilling piles of larger than six-meter diameter simultaneously, for instances where larger monopiles are the chosen foundation for the wind farm sites of Round three in U.K.

06 Nov 2013

Keppel Wins US$1-Billion Transocean Jackup Rig Order

A Keppel Jackup-rig: Photo courtesy of Keppel Fels

Keppel FELS Limited has secured a repeat order from a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd. (Transocean) to build 5 KFELS Super B Class jackup rigs for US$1.1 billion. The rigs are scheduled to be delivered progressively from 1Q 2016 to 3Q 2017. In addition, Transocean has options to build up to another five similar jackup rigs with Keppel FELS. Tailored to suit Transocean's requirements, the KFELS Super B Class rigs are designed to operate in 400 feet water depth and drill to 35,000 feet.

29 Oct 2013

EDS Makes Two Senior Appointments

John Meckert

Environmental Drilling Solutions (EDS), a provider of drilling waste management, solids control and backyard management solutions to the oil and gas industry, announced two senior-level additions to its management team: John Meckert as chief executive officer (CEO) and John Marty III as business development manager. Meckert joins EDS with 23 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, primarily in oilfield services and drilling. He has spent most of his career at various divisions of Nabors Industries, the world’s largest land driller.

15 Oct 2013

Transocean Future Newbuild Drillship Chartered Out

Transocean deepwater liftboat: Photo courtesy of Transocean

Transocean Ltd. has been awarded a five-year contract by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. for a newbuild dynamically positioned ultra-deepwater drillship. Shipyard delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2016. After customer acceptance, the contract is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2016, contributing an estimated revenue backlog of approximately $1.1 billion, excluding mobilization. Excluding capitalized interest, the capital investment for the newbuild drillship is an estimated $725 million.