Offshore drilling technology

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First drilling rig type

Colonel Drake
Titusville, USA, 1859
The ‘inventor’ of rotary
drilling for petroleum
exploitation.


Drilling operation How do we do it?
We use energy to break up the rock and create a hole
The energy consists of rotation and hydraulic forces
The energy is optimised by ‘tuning’ drilling parameters
After drilling a section of the well, it is sealed off
with steel pipe to ensure integrity for the following
well section



Semisubmersible drilling rigs

Smedvig’s
West Venture
is a deepwater
semisubmersible
Dynamic positioning
One of the world's


Drill ships
Floating
Moved by its own power
Station keeping by anchors or propellars (dynamic position)
Blowout Preventer is on sea bed
Any weather condition, any waters, but problems with ice
80 - 3000 m water depth
High payload capacity, will ‘travel and drill’ with minor support
Good for remote areas, high speed
Approximate costs: 100,000 - 250,000 USD/day
largest semis