Drilling contractor Noble Corporation Plc has awarded a contract to AFGlobal to provide and install an integrated deepwater managed pressure drilling (MPD) system.
“The addition of MPD systems to our rig fleet will provide a valuable competitive advantage with an expected higher level of safety and performance,” said Scott Marks, senior vice president of engineering at Noble, in a press statement issued by AFGlobal on 28 June.
AFGlobal’s decades of manufacturing experience and its understanding of MPD technology has positioned the company at the center of the MPD adoption and revolution, said Mark Mitchell, president – oil & gas at AFGlobal, in the release. “Working closely with all the stakeholders, we have designed, built and installed the industry-leading equipment that is enabling the global fleet of MPD-ready rigs.”
MPD is a well control technology that creates a closed-loop system and enables the driller to manipulate surface back pressure to manage the annular hydraulic pressure profile. MPD is being used to mitigate issues such as non-productive time, stuck pipe, gas kicks, narrow fracture margins, and loss of well. In an April 2016 report, research firm MarketsandMarkets expects North America to remain the largest market for MPD through 2021 due to its extensive use in the Gulf of Mexico.
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