Page 32: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2022)

GREAT SHIPS of 2022

Transocean’s eighth-generation drillships are designed to be out? tted with well control systems rated for 20,000 psi and possess a 3.4 million pound hoisting capacity. Seventh- generation rigs offer 2.5 to 2.8 million pound hoisting capacity, and 15,000 psi well control systems. Sixth-generation rigs offer a hoisting capacity of up to 2.0 million pounds and are rated for water depths up to 10,000 feet. – Marijana Sosic, Manager,

Technical Marketing, Transocean

Atlas adds $252 million in backlog to Transocean’s industry-

The completed drillship features three-million leading $7.3 billion backlog as of October 13. pound hook-load hoisting capacity. Why is this important?

How much do these high psi BOPs add to the

The hoisting capacity of the drawworks is 3.4 million cost? Can they be installed on rigs in the exist- pounds with a net hook load of 3.0 million pounds. The weight ing ? eet?

of the traveling equipment, including the motion compensator

The 20,000 psi BOP stacks are very complex, requiring cer- that maintains the drill string position, the traveling block and hook, are all included in the hoisting capacity. This allows us tain modi? cations to the rig: the entire well control system would require modi? cation and upgrading. The work would to pick up a full 3.0 million pounds at the elevator. This is im- portant to Transocean, and our customers, because it is more take existing rigs out of operation and include hull piping cost effective. The maximum capacity is higher than on any changes, among other things. Essentially, it would be similar other rig, allowing us to run longer casing strings, reducing to replacing an entire air conditioning and heating system and all of its associated duct work – when it is working ef? ciently handling, running and cementing times.

in a new house – within a year or two of its installation.

Deepwater Atlas and its sister ship Titan were ordered back in 2014, and they’re only being Transocean has said that, apart from the delivered now. Can you provide some color on two rigs being “the most capable and highest the challenges faced since the original order? speci? cation rigs in the world” they are also

The rigs reportedly cost $2.25B in total, versus equipped to reduce fuel consumption and cut emissions. Can you share further info on how $1.08B when originally ordered.

this is being done?

While the rigs were originally ordered in 2014 just before

While we are always looking for ways to reduce our car- the industry downturn, these two projects shifted in 2018 bon footprint, we currently reduce emissions and fuel con- when one of our customers approached us with an opportu- nity to design and construct a rig capable of drilling in 20,000 sumption through the use of fuel additives that optimize fuel consumption, hybrid power systems, LED lighting and a psi environments – the new frontier of ultra-deepwater drill- high-ef? ciency power plant con? gured to comply with Tier ing. As a result of the new rig design and construction man- agement contract, and a ? ve-year drilling contract, we shifted III International Maritime Organization emissions standards. gears and got to work to accomplish the design, construction Importantly, reducing well construction time using the de- sign features of our newest rigs, such as their industry-lead- and delivery requirements set forth in the construction con- tract. The initial contract for the Deepwater Titan adds $830 ing hookload capacity, leads to less fuel consumption and million in backlog and the initial contract for the Deepwater emissions per well.

32 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • December 2022

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