Maersk Drilling has ordered the offshore oil and gas industry’s first 20,000-psi (20-ksi) rated deepwater blowout preventer (BOP) stack and riser systems.
The four BOPs and two risers, ordered from GE Oil and Gas, will be used in the Project 20K agreement with BP.
Project 20K stems from a joint study agreement agreed between BP and Maersk Drilling in February 2013, to develop conceptual engineering designs for a new breed of advanced technology drilling rigs that will be critical to unlocking the next frontier of deepwater oil and gas resources.
The four BOPs and two risers from GE are intended to be delivered and deployed on two Maersk Drilling 20K Rigs by year-end 2018. The order, which is subject to BP and Maersk Drilling taking the final investment decision on a 20K Rig contract, includes options for provision of further BOPs.
Maersk Drilling says the 20K Rigs are being designed to be able to operate in high-pressure and high-temperature reservoirs up to 20,000 psi and 350°F.
Following the BOP and riser order, Maersk Drilling intends to talk to various ship yards about the potential construction of a series of 20K Rigs.
Gary Jones, vice president of BP’s Global Wells Organization, said: “The 20-ksi drilling system being developed will include a number of new real-time monitoring and condition-based maintenance technologies aimed at improving uptime by reducing unplanned maintenance. From higher performance mechanicals to real-time monitoring and condition-based maintenance systems, this next-generation system can make accessible new offshore drilling frontiers.”
A jointly staffed engineering team located in Houston with back-office support from Maersk Drilling’s headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, has been working on the engineering studies required to select the design of the 20K Rig, riser and blowout prevention systems. BP has estimated the application of this technology across its own global portfolio alone could potentially access an additional 10-20 billion bbl of resources.
BP launched Project 20K in February 2012. It set out plans to develop technologies in four key areas: well designs and completions; drilling rigs, riser and blowout prevention equipment; subsea production systems; and well intervention and containment.