"PROXIMA" is an Ultra Deep Water Drillship concept designed for the future, sporting a revolutionary and innovative drilling rig based on two independent towers integrated in a very performing and efficient platform.
The concept follows the experience matured in 2013 during the design development of the Ultra Deep Water Drillship "OVERDRILL", which represented a natural evolution compared to the present drillship fleet exploited through the deep integration between the hull and the traditional drilling system.
On this new project are maintained all the positive results achieved with the "OVERDRILL" philosophy, in particular in the integration process, but the traditional lattice structure derrick is substituted by a completely new drilling rig based on the double tower concept which creates the premises for a general improvement of the unit performances in general.
The main targets of the project are:
To design a completely innovative drillship anticipating the future needs for offshore ultra deep water exploration
To answer to most of the requests/expectations expressed by operators of the sector during the world wide presentation of "OVERDRILL" project in 2013 improving safety and efficiency of drilling operations.
To improve the in house design capability with deeper focus on the specialized drilling outfitting area, creating the basis for the evolutionary process of the offshore shipyard of the future, means conscious integrators of sophisticated technologies rather than unconscious assemblers as in the traditional approach.
The integration of the main and auxiliary towers on the marine platform, which had been optimized for the traditional lattice structure derrick in "OVEDRILL" project, has put in evidence a lot of opportunities for improving the positive qualities of the unit.
The main results obtained at the end of the concept design loop may be summarized as follows:
The towers have a beneficial impact on the extended drillfloor open areas and consequently on safety and efficiency for workers, on the reduction of power and time to complete a UDW well exploration, on the overhaul activities.
The integration between towers and marine platform have beneficial impacts on the reduction of vertical center of gravity, on transit speed of the vessel, on the availability and dimensions of the open deck areas.
