Archive | Features
Shales still name of the game on US land. In Gulf of Mexico, uncertainty reigns.
Posted on 08 November 2010 in 2010, Features, November/December
In the face of a weak offshore market, continuing low natural gas prices, a higher-than-forecasted supply of gas, and heightened regulations, logic would signal a dismal…
FCPA compliance: what every contractor needs to know
Posted on 08 September 2010 in 2010, Features, September/October
The Macondo incident has understandably seized our industry’s attention, leaving other developments comparatively unexamined in its vast shadow. One of these developments arose in July…
Triple-deck shale shaker, mobile processing trucks push solids control capacity, efficiency
Posted on 08 September 2010 in 2010, Features, Onshore Advances, September/October, Videos
Safety. Environmental footprint. Cost efficiency. In the oil and gas industry’s ever-expanding lexicon, no terms have become as top of mind as these critical watchwords that factor into every decision on every well…
Despite weak spots, contractors see decent prospects in West Africa offshore Angola, Ghana
Posted on 08 September 2010 in 2010, Features, Global and Regional Markets, September/October
Despite a general oversupply of offshore rigs globally that is affecting utilization and dayrates in numerous markets, the West Africa region appears to be holding its own with consistent levels of E&P activity…
Bridging the communications gap in rig automation
Posted on 08 September 2010 in 2010, Features, September/October, The Efficient Rig
IADC Drilling Control Systems subcommittee, SPE DSATS group set out to create reference roadmap to achieve full rig automation, define communication protocols needed for downhole, surface integration…
Rig NPT: the ugly truth
Posted on 08 September 2010 in 2010, Features, September/October, The Efficient Rig
NPT, the familiar acronym for nonproductive time, is a three-letter word, but it might as well be a four-letter word to drilling contractors and operators, considering the negative connotations that come with it. Perhaps the negativity is well deserved. NPT brings to mind money wasted, time wasted, failures…
New seismic-while-drilling systems may help operators navigate complex well paths
Posted on 12 July 2010 in Features, Innovating While Drilling, July/August
Since the early 2000s, the seismic-while-drilling (SWD) market has been held exclusively by one service provider. Now, the SWD landscape is about to change…
Maersk: Helping operators get the max out of modern rig fleet to be focus in 2010
Posted on 12 July 2010 in Features, Global and Regional Markets, July/August
Providing another take on the Norwegian drilling market is Martin Fruergaard, Maersk Drilling vice president and chief commercial officer. He believes that the drilling market in Norway has seen only a limited…
Seadrill: With Statoil active again, Norwegian market looking up for 2010
Posted on 12 July 2010 in Features, Global and Regional Markets, July/August
In the Norwegian segment of the European drilling market, Statoil is a true giant. If it stamps one foot, the whole region will shake and tumble. In late 2008, when recession hit the global economy…
IADC collaborating with members, government to get all rigs back to work in Gulf of Mexico
Posted on 12 July 2010 in Features, July/August
IADC continues to lead in the struggle for rationality in the wake of the Macondo spill in the US Gulf of Mexico. IADC is fighting to secure reasonable regulations and legislation that will protect not only the environment…
Recent Drilling News
14 June 2013
UK HSE report: Reportable hydrocarbon releases nearly halved over three years
The UK oil and gas industry has achieved a 48% reduction in the number of reportable hydrocarbon releases over three years, the...
12 June 2013
Atwood Oceanics secures contract for Atwood Achiever ultra-deepwater drillship
Atwood Oceanics has been awarded a drilling services contract for the ultra-deepwater drillship Atwood Achiever by a subsidiary...
10 June 2013
Ensco orders its eighth Samsung DP3 ultra-deepwater drillship
Ensco has ordered an additional advanced-capability DP3 ultra-deepwater drillship based on the Samsung GF12000 hull design. The vessel, ENSCO DS-10, will be the eighth...
07 June 2013
Unconventionals lead the way for drilling automation, but business model defines uptake
Industry’s ongoing efforts to bring automation to the drilling sector will progress over time as a “natural alignment”...
05 June 2013
Exclusive video: Compact top drive, casing drive system built for mobility
Julio Quintana, president and CEO for Tesco, speaks with Drilling Contractor associate editor Katherine Scott...