Dolphin Drilling recently unveiled its new deepwater drillship, the Bolette Dolphin. The rig is equipped to operate in 12,000 ft of water with a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 ft.

Aberdeen-based Dolphin Drilling, one of the oldest and largest independent drilling contracting companies in the North Sea, unveiled its new 751-ft ultra deepwater rig, Bolette Dolphin, at a naming ceremony at the Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, where it is currently being built.

The drillship, designed for efficient deepwater drilling and completion activity, will start work for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation later this year and has been contracted for a four-year international campaign.

“The naming ceremony of the Bolette Dolphin hails a key step in the company’s strategic development with a deepwater focus, directly in line with industry demands as exploration and production continues to push to ever deeper depths. The ship marks a significant investment for the group and will be one of the most advanced deepwater drillships in the market,” Graeme Murray, managing director at Dolphin Drilling, said.

“Equipped to operate within 12,000 ft of water, with a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 ft, we are confident it will deliver favorable results for Anadarko and its major exploration campaign.”

Other findings of the report included:

• A noticeable and steady reduction in the incidence of over-three day injuries to an all-time low;

• No fatalities and a reduction in combined fatal and major injury rates, and in all types of dangerous occurrences; and

• An all-time low in Level 3 verification non-compliances that relate to performance standards of safety-critical equipment identified by an independent competent person.

“In all this progress, our industry’s safety organization, Step Change in Safety, has played a leading role, and most of the improvement is down to the focused, collaborative effort of companies, workforce representatives, trade unions and the Health and Safety Executive in Step Change,” Mr Paterson said. “However, there is no room for complacency. While the review that followed the Piper Alpha disaster provided the foundation for what is now one of the most robust offshore health and safety regimes in the world, the approaching 25th anniversary of that tragedy only serves to remind us that we must never stop at striving to make things safer. Continued engagement of all parties through Step Change in Safety will be crucial in that effort.”

The Atwood Achiever is a sixth-generation ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned drillship with enhanced offline capabilities and two BOP systems. The rig’s capabilities include drilling to total depths up to 40,000 ft and in water depths up to 12,000 ft. The drillship is under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea. The Atwood Achiever is scheduled for delivery from the DSME shipyard in June 2014, after which it will mobilize for a period of approximately 65 days to its first location in Morocco.

The signed agreement covers an initial period of three years at approximately $595,000 per day, with an option to extend the contract for an additional three-year term.

This contract adds $652 million in revenue backlog, bringing Atwood’s total revenue backlog to approximately $3.9 billion as of 10 June 2013.

“We are very pleased to have contracted the Atwood Achiever, our second ultra-deepwater drillship, with Kosmos Energy,” Rob Saltiel, Atwood’s president and CEO, said. “Our companies have always worked well together, and the Achiever will provide  an excellent platform for delivering safe and reliable drilling services for Kosmos’ exploration program.”

Measuring 755 ft in length and 125 ft in width, ENSCO DS-10 will offer a 1,250-ton hoisting system with enhanced offline capability. Like ENSCO DS-8 and ENSCO DS-9, the new unit will have advanced capabilities to meet the demands of ultra-deepwater drilling in water depths up to 12,000 ft and a total vertical drilling depth of 40,000 ft. It will be initially outfitted to work in water depths up to 10,000 ft. Including commissioning, systems integration testing, project management and tubulars, the construction cost is expected to be approximately $625 million.

ENSCO DS-8 and ENSCO DS-9, also based on the GF12000 hull design, are scheduled for delivery in 2014. Ensco is currently the only drilling contractor offering the advanced features of the GF12000 hull design. Features of the drillship include: retractable thrusters; enhanced safety and environmental features; improved dynamic positioning capabilities; and advanced drilling and completion functionality, including below-main-deck riser storage, triple fluid systems and offline conditioning capability. The drillship also incorporates enhanced client and third-party facilities with living quarters for up to 200 personnel.

A 165-ton active heave compensating construction crane allows for deployment of subsea production equipment without interference with ongoing drilling operations. ENSCO DS-10 includes a 15,000-psi subsea well control system with seven rams and can accommodate a second BOP stack.

“We continue to see very strong demand for rigs in existing deepwater markets, along with growing demand from emerging exploration areas. Operators are also showing high interest in this iteration of the Samsung DP3 drillship, due to its advanced design and capabilities that improve drilling productivity and fuel efficiency – two key factors that affect the operator’s project costs,” said Ensco chairman, president and CEO Dan Rabun.

Ensco’s four active DP3 drillships are currently working in the US Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and West Africa. Three are contracted into 2016, and the fourth is contracted into 2018. A fifth drillship, ENSCO DS-7, scheduled for delivery later in 2013, is contracted to Total into 2016.

John de Wardt, president of DE WARDT AND COMPANY, says the drilling sector’s business model based on dayrates hampers the rate of adoption of automation. Mr de Wardt moderated the SPE/IADC Drilling Systems Automation symposium earlier this year and will moderate a panel discussion at the Business Solutions for Drilling Automation workshop on 18 June in Istanbul.

By Katie Mazerov, contributing editor

Industry’s ongoing efforts to bring automation to the drilling sector will progress over time as a “natural alignment” occurs among the various players, with unconventional developments serving as the impetus for change, a Shell executive contends. “While we see significant opportunities in utilizing automation to improve drilling efficiencies, there is a lack of natural alignment to move it forward,” said Jeff Wahleithner, vice president, global unconventional wells for Shell. “As the industry develops further, the business opportunities for automation will become more obvious, and it will happen, as it has in other industries. It’s a matter of time.”

Mr Wahleithner will be among five presenters in a panel discussion at the Business Solutions for Drilling Automation workshop on 18 June in Istanbul. The event, which is being held in advance of IADC World Drilling 2013, is sponsored by the IADC Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Committee and the SPE Drilling Systems Automation Technical Section (DSATS). Registration can be completed here.

“Shell is pursuing automation to improve safety and efficiency,” he said. “The industry is going through a step-change with the unconventional plays, as massive resources are now recognized as potential developments. These developments will require a high intensity of manpower and equipment. Automation is a critical tool to address these challenges and continuously improve the efficiency.”

That intensity is manifested by the fact that unconventional production requires a large number of wells, with repetitive drilling techniques that lend themselves to automation. “Relative to most conventional operations, the number of wells required to increase production in unconventionals is significant,” Mr Wahleithner continued. “The overall efficiency of the well construction dominates the economics for unconventional developments.”

Joining Mr Wahleithner on the panel will be Jay Minmier, 2013 IADC vice chairman and president of Nomac Drilling; Hege Kverneland, corporate vice president and chief technology officer, National Oilwell Varco; Miguel Angel Fernandez, director, vertical market chemical industries for Siemens; and Mikael Larsson, robotics manager, ABB Turkey. Their presentations will be followed by a group discussion.

The panel will be moderated by John de Wardt, president, DE WARDT AND COMPANY. Mr de Wardt agrees that unconventionals will be a driver of change, but he also says the drilling sector’s business model that is still based on dayrates is impeding the transition. “A new demand for highly efficient, repetitive drilling for unconventionals creates an environment where adoption of automation will bring benefits,” he said. “But the rate of adoption of automation in drilling is hampered by the current business models, not the technology application.”

“Right now, the industry is very fragmented so that when we go to drill a well, we have an array of different pieces of equipment and services,” Mr de Wardt continued. “In order to enable automation, there needs to be integrator for bringing data together and moving data between the multiple sensors and various pieces of equipment into a closed-loop system so it can operate autonomously. At the same time, the business model needs to change to drive the rewards for applying integration and automation.”

Mr de Wardt also contends the drilling industry remains far behind industrial automation, including autonomous mining systems with remote control, as demonstrated at a DSATS/ART symposium held in Amsterdam in March. “This application gap provides an opportunity to accelerate the adoption of automation, which is our reason for bringing outside speakers to the debate.”

The license partners of Gullfaks and Oseberg Area Unit have acquired two new Category J jackups. The rigs will be owned by the licenses and will contribute to increased recovery and extended field life.

KCA DEUTAG awarded contract worth up to US $2.2 billion

KCA DEUTAG has been awarded a contract with Statoil for the management, operation and maintenance of two Category J jackups, which will operate on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The contract is for eight years with the option to extend by four periods of three years, giving potential for the contract to last up to 20 years. The contract value is US $900 million (NOK 5.2 billion) for the initial period and US $2.2 billion (NOK 12.8 billion) including options. Operations are expected to start in 2016 to 2017.

The new Category J rigs will be able to operate in harsh environments at water depths from 230 to 460 ft (70 to 140 meters) and drill wells with lengths up to 32,800 ft (10,000 meters). Each tailor-made rig will be owned by the Oseberg and Gullfaks licenses and be specifically designed to operate on both surface and subsea wells.

The contract adopts an innovative approach where the licenses own the rigs instead of the drilling contractor. “This is an important milestone for both Oseberg and Gullfaks. The awards will secure vital rig capacity for both licenses at very competitive prices. Reduced drilling costs are important to increase recovery and to maintain production in Oseberg Area Unit and Gullfaks for decades,” Øystein Håland, head of Operations West in Statoil, said.

During the initial engineering and construction phases, a joint Statoil and KCA DEUTAG team will work alongside Samsung Heavy Industries and National Oilwell Varco at the shipyard. “This award enhances our already significant business in Norway and also sets a precedent for KCA DEUTAG to target further drilling operations and management contracts on newbuild mobile offshore drilling units that are third-party owned,” Norrie McKay, CEO of KCA DEUTAG, said. KCA DEUTAG also operates eight other platform-drilling rigs for Statoil on the NCS.

Keppel FELS’ Super A Class jackup has been delivered to Discovery Offshore 46 days ahead of schedule.

Keppel delivers first KFELS Super A Class jackup for harsh environments

Keppel FELS has delivered its first KFELS Super A Class jackup to Discovery Offshore, which is managed by Hercules Offshore.

Discovery Triumph has been delivered 46 days ahead of schedule and with a perfect safety record. The ultra-high-specification jackup has been designed for the harsh environmental conditions of the North Sea (UK sector). Its enhanced leg design incorporates Keppel’s high-capacity rack and pinion jacking system, which ensures that the rig is able to jack up and stand firm in a secure and safe manner in challenging environments.

“We are pleased that Discovery Offshore has selected this design for their first two harsh environment rigs,” Wong Kok Seng, managing director, offshore, for Keppel Offshore & Marine and managing director of Keppel FELS, said. “Although it is a new design, our expertise and strong engineering, construction and project management experience has enabled us to deliver it ahead of schedule while achieving an excellent safety record. We look forward to delivering the second KFELS Super A Class to Discovery Offshore just as efficiently.”

Discovery Triumph is capable of operating in water depths of 400 ft and drilling depths of 35,000 ft. The KFELS Super A Class is equipped with pinion overload detection, rack phase difference detection, and brake failure and overload protection devices. The rig has a 2 million-lb hook-load drilling system and includes a spacious deck and amenities to accommodate 150 workers.

“As this North Sea-compliant rig is able to operate efficiently in virtually all parts of the world outside Norway and the Arctic, we also see many opportunities for it to be deployed in other parts of the world to generate maximum utilization. With another KFELS Super A Class rig about to join Discovery Triumph later this year, we are well positioned to become a strong player in harsh environment drilling,” John T. Rynd, CEO of Hercules Offshore, said.

Keppel FELS is currently building another KFELS Super A Class jackup for Discovery Offshore, as well as another three for Ensco.

Diamond Offshore orders semisubmersible, secures three-year drilling contract with BP

Diamond Offshore Drilling has ordered a new Moss CS60E design harsh-environment from Hyundai Heavy Industries. The 10,000-ft dynamically positioned rig is expected to be delivered after November 2015. Projected capital cost of the unit, including spares, commissioning and shipyard supervision, is approximately US $755 million.

Diamond Offshore secured a three-year drilling contract with a subsidiary of BP to utilize the rig for initial operations off the coast of South Australia. The initial operating dayrate is $585,000 per day and is subject to upward adjustment for certain increased operating costs and equipment modifications.

“We are pleased to have been selected by BP for this important work,” Larry Dickerson, Diamond Offshore’s CEO, said. “Our company, and its predecessors, have been continuously active in Australia since 1982, drilling over 600 wells – far more than any other drilling contractor.”

BP also has exercised a one-year option for use of Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Stavanger. The extension will keep the rig with BP in Angola as a minimum until November 2014. Deepsea Stavanger has been drilling under contract with BP Angola since 2011. The rig is currently drilling and completing production wells on the Greater Plutonium field in Block 18. The contract has two more one-year options.

Atwood Oceanics secures contract for the Atwood Eagle

Atwood Oceanics has been awarded a drilling services contract for the Atwood Eagle semisubmersible. This contract is for 24 months and will be performed offshore Australia at a dayrate of approximately US $460,000. Contract commencement is expected in June 2014 in direct continuation of present operations, which have been split between BHP Billiton, Apache Energy and Woodside Energy. With the award of this contract, the firm contractual commitment for the Atwood Eagle is expected to extend to June 2016.

“The Institute will help federal regulators keep pace with new processes employed by the industry as they move into deeper water and deeper geologic plays that require technological innovation to bring projects into production,” Rear Admiral James Watson, director of BSEE, said. “I look forward to expanding the dialogue and engagement with additional stakeholders to identify and reduce risks to worker safety and the environment.” Interested applicants should register with the grants.gov website to submit an application.

The institute stems from a recommendation from the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee (OESC), a federal advisory group comprised of representatives from industry, federal government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the academic community. The recommendation calls for establishing a body that will provide a program of research, technical assistance and education and serve as a center of expertise in oil and gas exploration, development and production technology. The institute will be an important source of unbiased, independent information and will not have any regulatory authority over the offshore industry.

“As offshore energy development becomes more complex, every effort should be made to make sure it is done ever more safely,” said Dr Thomas O. Hunter, chair of the OESC and former Sandia National Laboratory director. “The Institute provides a unique opportunity for all engaged parties to work together to identify and deploy technology that will make a real and enduring difference. The time is right and the opportunity is clear.”

This year’s technical program will include topics such as shale gas risk management, private equity investment in oilfield services and equipment companies, and decommissioning process optimization. Additionally, keynote speaker Stephen P. Thurston, VP of Chevron North America E&P Co, will address the short- and long-term outlook for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Greg Stutes, Technical Session Committee chairman

“LAGCOE 2013 offers technical sessions to address topics of high interest to attendees. As technology changes in our industry, so does the need to convey the associated effect it has on all facets of our business,” Technical Session Committee chairman Greg Stutes, Completion Specialists, said. “Our technical session committee focuses on producing a slate of technical speakers and topics that have significant relevance to the current state of our industry and also tie in well with LAGCOE, an onshore and offshore exposition. The technology transfer associated with the technical sessions provides critical technical information that is of high interest to decision makers.”

In 2011, LAGCOE welcomed 400 exhibiting companies from around the world and 14,000 attendees from 26 countries and 47 states. Register for this year’s show here.

Statoil, together with partners in the Grane Unit, has made a new oil discovery in the Grane field in the North Sea.

Statoil and its partners are in the process of concluding drilling operations in exploration well 25/11-27 in the Grane Unit. Drilled by Songa Offshore’s Songa Trym semisubmersible, the well proved an oil column of 20 meters in the Heimdal Formation. The estimated volume of the discovery is in the range of 18 to 33 million bbls of recoverable oil.

“We are pleased with having proven new very high value resources in the Grane area,” Tore Løseth, vice president for exploration in the North Sea, said. “The oil discovery is located directly north of the Grane field and can be developed effectively.”

Timely near-field exploration is an important element in Statoil’s exploration strategy for the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). This implies exploration close to existing installations that in the near future will have spare capacity for new tie-ins. “Near-field exploration is an important contribution in Statoil’s exploration portfolio on the NCS,” Mr Løseth said. “Even though volumes in these discoveries are moderate compared with the big finds over the last few years, these are fast, high-value barrels that are important for extending the production life of existing installations.”

In 2013, about 40% of Statoil’s exploration wells on the NCS will be near-field exploration. In addition to the Grane area, this includes the Oseberg, Fram/Gjøa and Tampen areas.

Exploration well 25/11-27 is situated in the Grane Unit in the North Sea. Statoil is operator with an interest of 36.66%. The partners are Petoro (28.94%), ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Norway (28.22%) and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (6.17%).

In addition, BP has successfully secured support from the other working interest owners at Prudhoe Bay to begin evaluating an additional $3 billion worth of new development projects. These projects, located in the west end of the Greater Prudhoe Bay Area, could continue for approximately 10 years, further increasing the state’s oil production and providing additional jobs.

“With this new tax law, the Alaska legislature and Governor Parnell have taken an important step toward improving Alaska’s long-term economic future,” Janet Weiss, BP Alaska region president, said. “Our announcement today should make abundantly clear that BP is committed to being a part of that future and to continuing to extend the life of North America’s largest oil field.”

BP Exploration (Alaska) will issue a request for proposals this summer for the two additional rigs in Prudhoe Bay. The first drilling rig is expected to be in place by 2015 and the second in 2016. This will increase BP’s rig fleet in Alaska to nine. Meanwhile, BP expects to increase well work as soon Q4 2013, a move that should improve the performance of existing wells at the Prudhoe Bay and Milne Point fields.

The additional development opportunities being evaluated by working interest owners are in the west end of Prudhoe Bay and include expansion and de-bottlenecking of existing Prudhoe Bay facilities, constructing a new drilling pad, and expansions of existing pads, including the drilling of more than 110 new wells. The appraisal phase will take two to three years and will include engineering work and securing regulatory approvals for multiple development projects.

“Now that an improved tax structure is in place, oil and gas projects can once again move forward, keeping Alaska competitive in the midst of America’s recent energy renaissance,” Ms Weiss said.

BP is also working with other companies and the state of Alaska to commercialize Alaska North Slope natural gas as part of a joint concept selection group focused on a South Central Alaska LNG project.