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Overview of Offshore Drilling Technologies

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DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe415

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Overview of Offshore Drilling Technologies
Muhammad Zulqarnain1 and Rivers Fike2
1 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
2 SPE, Houston, TX, USA

1 OFFSHORE DRILLING
1 Offshore Drilling Introduction 1 INTRODUCTION
2 Offshore Drilling Rig Types 1
3 Offshore Drilling System’s Main Components In the US history, the first offshore well was drilled in 1896
(Subsea Wells) 3 by using a wooden pier in the Santa Barbara Channel in
4 Marine Riser 3 California (AOGHS, 2015). In the last few decades, the
5 Offshore Blowout Preventers (BOPs) 4 drilling industry has evolved from drilling in shallow waters
to having the capabilities of drilling in ultra-deep waters in
6 Secondary Emergency Functions 5
water depths exceeding 10,000 ft (3000 m). Well construc-
7 Sequence of Offshore Deepwater Drilling tion can be divided into two phases, drilling and completion.
Operations 5 Drilling consist of constructing a well and evaluating the
8 Offshore Drilling Fluids and Cutting Disposal 6 geologic prospect, while well completion involves the instal-
9 Well Control 7 lation of a production liner/casing and preparing the well to
10 Shallow Water Flow Hazard 7 produce hydrocarbons in a controlled manner.
11 Techniques to Drill in Well With Narrow
Margins 8
12 Well Containment Technologies 9 2 OFFSHORE DRILLING RIG TYPES
13 Offshore Well Completion 10
There are two main categories of offshore drilling units, fixed
14 Offshore Drilling Safety and Environmental and mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs). MODUs are
Concerns 10 used for exploratory drilling as fixed rigs require a plat-
15 Conclusions 10 form/structure and therefore are used for development or
Glossary 11 near field expansion and cannot be easily moved to new
Related Articles 11 drilling locations. Both types of rigs are shown in Figure 1.
References 11
2.1 Fixed units

Fixed units are temporarily or permanently fixed on their

locations. They are anchored directly into the seabed and the
surface deck is supported by a steel structure known as the
Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
jacket. Fixed platforms are more stable than mobile units and
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. they can only be used for moderate water depths and reser-
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe415
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition)
voirs that will produce for longer durations. As these units
ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2 are used for shallow water depths, most of the time the main
 Overview of Offshore Drilling Technologies 11

GLOSSARY Floater Introduction

Dynamic Positioning
BOP stack An assembly of flow control devices Semisubmersibles
and auxiliary systems installed at the Advanced Deepwater Drilling Topics
wellhead and used to shut the well.
Capping stack Consists of a typical subsea BOP
stacks with auxiliary systems to
collect fluids and inject dispersants.
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Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe415
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2
 12 Offshore

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Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering, online © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118476406.emoe415
Also published in the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering (print edition) ISBN: 978-1-118-47635-2

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