DP drilling extends technology
Successful operating experience has proven dynamic positioning the basic component required for drilling in water depths to 5000 feet and identifies the area where improved equipment and procedures will be beneficial for more efficient operations. Forty-two wells have been drilled using dynamically positioned (DP) vessels in water depths exceeding 2000 feet. Of the 15 (DP) vessels, all but one are drillships. For 13,000-ft water depth, two deepwater techniques must be developed riser/rig handling capability and formation fraction gradient. Economic demands to develop the deep water will govern when, where and what water depths will be explored; this will dictate the development of the next generation of deepwater drilling units and the technology required to build and operate the units. Next comes production drilling and subsea completions, where dynamic stationing offers many advantages where there is a tangle of subsea wellheads, flowlines, and pipelines. (DP)
- Research Organization:
- Sedco Inc., Dallas, TX
- OSTI ID:
- 5469621
- Journal Information:
- Offshore; (United States), Vol. 42:2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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