West Group (Norway)

During the last 20 years the drilling industry has been through extensive mechanization and automation of tasks on the drill floor previously done manually. However the efficiency of operations has not improved through this development, neither has the development been able to improve well safety, an important aspect of drilling and well operations. During the same period the costs of rig rental and services associated with drilling operations have had a significant increase. The increased cost for drilling is an essential aspect in the discussion of oil recovery from existing reservoirs and in the decision to explore new structures, thereby affecting the oil revenue of oil companies and governments. The importance of lowering drilling costs has been clearly pointed out at various industry conferences. Mature oil provinces will experience an unnecessary decrease in oil production due to extensive drilling costs. The ability to reduce these costs is urgent and is heavily addressed by the major operators. Significant more drilling is necessary to prolong the production on the many mature fields As the drilling for oil and gas is moving into more demanding areas the need for safer drilling practices is imminent. The drilling industry has after several accidents a need for improved equipment that yields a higher standard in well safety. West Drilling Products AS has invented and patented a new generation drilling technology - Continuous Motion Rig (CMR), a technology that promises a significant breakthrough in drilling efficiency, cost savings and well safety. CMR technology has a potential to reduce drilling time with 50 % and overall drilling costs with 40 – 50 %. The main principle in this new breakthrough technology is to be able to run jointed drill pipe and casing continuously, to drill continuously while maintaining circulation. The CMR technology facilitates Underbalanced Drilling, MPD, and full snubbing capabilities. CMR will be the first fully robotize drilling process. This paper will present the CMR technology, the development status and that the CMR Technology is a valuable and visible contribution of lowering drilling costs and introducing higher standard in well safety.