The international offshore drilling contractor Transocean has entered into an agreement with Equinor to license and install Automated Drilling Control (ADC) systems on four high-specification, harsh environment rigs currently on contract in Norway and a fifth semi-submersible that is expected to start operations in the Norwegian Sea this summer.
The Switzerland-based drilling company said in a press release that the Transocean Enabler was previously equipped with the ADC system in 2017 and has delivered tangible improvements in overall drilling efficiency that have led to more cost-effective wells for Equinor.
Further, the system has demonstrated improvements in well integrity, while enhancing safety and operations assurance, it said.
In addition to the Transocean Enabler, the upgraded floaters in Transocean’s fleet will include: Transocean Spitsbergen, Transocean Norge, Transocean Encourage, Transocean Equinox and Transocean Endurance.
The ADC systems are developed through the combination of various technologies from MHWirth, NOV and Sekal AS, which enable, among other things, higher rates of penetration while drilling, highly stable bottom hole pressures avoiding swab/surge effects and early detection of kick/loss events.
“The ADC upgrades advance our automation efforts and further enhance our industry leading fleet of high-specification, harsh environment semisubmersibles,” said Jeremy Thigpen, President and CEO. “We are delighted to work alongside Equinor and our suppliers as we continue to identify and realize opportunities to deliver safer, higher quality and lower cost wells for our customers.”
Transocean specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services, and believes that it operates one of the most versatile offshore drilling fleets in the world.