Ocyan Rig Completes Drilling in Water Depths of Less than 500 Meters

Ocyan offers the oil and gas industry a new paradigm for drilling in water depths below 500 meters using a drillship in dynamic positioning, without the use of anchoring. The novelty was achieved for the first time this month with the Norbe VIII rig, in the Albacora field, in the Campos Basin pre-salt, at a water depth of 450 meters and a total depth of 5000 meters.

“We completed the operation at the beginning of May with Norbe VIII, after the engineering study that allowed the action at an affordable cost. The demand was presented by the customer in January; we evaluated the use of a drillship in dynamic positioning for this project for one month and, in February, we were able to start the operation with the drilling of the well. This model opens a new market for Ocyan‘s rigs,” celebrates Heitor Gioppo, Superintendent director of Ocyan’s Superintendent director of Ocyan’s Drilling Unit.

Ocyan drillships have the capacity to operate in water depths of up to 3000 meters, meeting the demand of the E&P industry in ultra deep waters. However, recently the number of wells with smaller water depths and total depths equivalent to the pre-salt wells of the Santos Basin has been increasing. This trend has generated the new challenge of operating large drilling units, which work under the dynamic positioning system, in projects that require greater control of the angle between the position of the rig and the equipment connected to the wellhead.

“This differential achieved will allow us to offer our rigs for future exploration agreements in fields with reduced water depth, such as the mature fields in the Campos Basin,” explains the executive.

For the Norbe VIII rig manager, Rafael Fontana, the solution will allow Ocyan to participate in bids where previously there was no technical possibility. “With our engineering work, we are making it possible to drill in increasingly smaller water depths, without the need for major investments in anchoring systems and reducing the environmental impact of this type of operation. This makes our asset competitive, as we have proven in practice to have the versatility to operate from shallow water locations to the ultra deep water fields of the Santos Basin pre-salt”, he concludes.