Transocean's fleet of newbuild, deepwater, 5th generation rigs have accumulated an aggregate 35 rig years work experience. Among the exceptional accomplishments:

  • deepest water depth (2,966 m / 9,727 ft – Unocal Discoverer Spirit)

  • deepest subsea completion (2,198 m / 7,209 ft – Unocal Discoverer Spirit)

  • deepest moored operation (2,442 m / 8,009 ft – Shell Deepwater Nautilus)

  • simultaneous well test / crude storage / offload – (BP Discoverer Enterprise)

The rigs are showing significant performance gains, some of this attributable to dual or off-line activity, and some in benefit of higher specification equipment (pump pressures, flow rates, etc). Many among the operator community are now factoring generous premiums for these efficiencies in their bid evaluations. In confirming and assessing the gains, Transocean have undertaken a modeling exercise, comparing the performance of 5th generation rigs with earlier builds. Representative performances have been distilled from the IADC Reports, such that well curves can be predicted and compared for each of the rig classes.

Keywords:
ibukun keji-ajayi, rig, cont, class rig, selection, generation rig, anchor, drill pipe, transocean, upstream oil & gas
Subjects:
Drillstring Design, Drilling Operations, Pressure Management, Drilling Equipment, Formation Evaluation & Management, Environment, Drill pipe selection, Open hole/cased hole log analysis, Waste management
Copyright 2003, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference
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