Page 41: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Feb/Mar 2014)

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drilling without any pressurized equip- an opportunity. If you look at the situ- gradient systems.

Subsea ment on the surface, it can help make ation of deepwater drilling today, there AGR participated in a 2008 study deepwater drills safer. And it’s lighter: are not enough sixth-generation rigs out off the South China Sea along with BP a 21-in. riser puts out around 1000kg there. By introducing [riserless drilling America, Shell, PETRONAS, and the (2200lbs) of liquid per meter, but the systems], you can go into the marketplace Norweigan Research DEMO 2000 pro-

Reelwell drill cuts that volume down to with lower-capacity rigs. You don’t need gram to test RMR in a deepwater setting. 50kg (110lbs) per meter. newer rigs.” In the study, engineers ran a drill from a “It’s a major weight difference,” The system was tested onshore using ? oating rig through 4657ft of water, even-

Reelwell CEO Jostein Aleksandsersen the Nabors Rig 97 at various depths tually reaching a depth of 7404ft. They said. “The main capacity of these drilling between 600m (1968.5ft) and 4250m found that systems operated without a weights is to handle the ? uid volume. It (13,943.57ft) with a 6.625-in. dual drill problem. The 7404ft depth was 169ft reduces the need for a higher capacity string on an 8.75-in. portion of Shell short of the original goal, but the discrep- [because] you don’t need to ? ll the riser.” Canada’s Groundbirch ? eld, in eastern ancy was not great enough to cause much

The end result of all this is a system British Columbia. The test compared the concern. that can support the increased pressures RDM-riserless system to a conventional The RMR system is now used in of a deepwater and public recognition. riser-based drilling system. Reelwell drilling operations the world over. As of

Reelwell received a Spotlight on New says that test showed its system has “a last year, RMR and CTS, its sister system,

Technology Award from the Offshore competitive rate of penetration” to a riser. have been used on more than 500 wells.

Technology Conference in 2013, one of The RDM-Riserless was not used offshore AGR claims that several drilling opera-

Right- RMR system has been used on 15 developments to be so honored. until last year when BG Brazil chose tions have used RMR to help drill top over 500 wells.

Reelwell has marketed its riserless Reelwell to develop a deepwater drilling holds in tough downhole conditions, and system as a means for companies to get system to be used at 2300m. it says that its system has allowed more use out of their older rigs. Instead years this technology has been tested in operaters to use smaller casings for their

AMG’S RMR of building new rigs to operate heavier deep waters. It is a system centered on a risers, which in turn allows them to build risers, they can retro? t its drill and save Another system that’s been widely subsea pump module that lets operators lighter, longer risers that can be used for on construction costs. accepted for much of the past decade is retrieve cuttings and used drilling ? uid deepwater drilling. The example they

In that sense, Aleksandersen calls it a the riserless mud recovery (RMR) system through a mud return line, allowing for point to most often is one where an “rig of opportunity.” from Norweigan company AGR. better volume control when drilling a operator went from a 2-in. casing to a “That’s the major reason of going into RMR has been available for shallow- tophole. It can be used for closed-loop 13.6.25-in. casing, allowing them to drill the market,” Aleksandersen said. “It’s water rigs since 2003, but in recent riserless drilling, and also with dual down to 7710ft.

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Tel: +44 (0) 1653 602020 Email: [email protected] Website:www.zetechtics.com oedigital.com February 2014 | OE 43 040_OE0214_Subsea2_RiserlessDrilling.indd 43 1/20/14 10:32 PM