Offshore staff
STRAUME, Norway– Enhanced Drilling has completed a pilot project with Statoil regarding use of the EC-Drill as a managed-pressure-drilling system for floating rigs. The pilot, conducted on the Troll field on the Norwegian continental shelf, saw the EC-Drill system used in the drilling of three branches of a well.
Drilling of the 8½-in. section started from theCOSLInnovator drilling rig on March 10, concluding on April 30. The EC-Drill system made it possible for Statoil to minimize losses, while the amount of drilling mud used was reduced by approximately 70% in relation to comparable wells.
The system solves the challenge of drilling within a narrow pressure window, says Enhanced Drilling. The EC-Drill system manipulates bottomhole pressure by changing the level of drilling mud in the riser, enabling the operator to “walk the line” between pore and fracture pressures.
Following the Troll pilot project, Statoil is due to introduce the EC-Drill system to theGulf of Mexico later in the year, on the Maersk Developerrig, for a multi-well project.
05/13/2014
