GE Oil & Gas has received an order for what the company says is the offshore oil and gas industry’s first 20,000-psi (20-ksi) rated deepwater blowout preventer (BOP) stack and riser systems from Copenhagen, Denmark-based Maersk Drilling.
The equipment, due to enter service in the first half of 2018, is being supplied for Maersk and BP as part of their joint Project 20K™ Rigs design program. BP and Maersk Drilling announced their joint study agreement in February 2013 to develop conceptual engineering designs for a new generation of advanced drilling rigs that will be critical to unlocking the next frontier of deepwater oil and gas resources. Called 20K Rigs, the BP-Maersk Drilling agreement will result in deepwater drilling vessels designed to efficiently operate in high-pressure and high-temperature reservoirs up to 20,000 psi and 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
“GE Oil & Gas is proud to join with Maersk and BP in developing the 20-ksi drilling system technologies to meet new ultra-deepwater production goals,” said Andrew Way , president and CEO of GE’s Drilling & Surface business—GE Oil & Gas. “By drawing upon GE’s technology portfolio and history of operational excellence, we are providing one of the most advanced drilling systems the industry has to offer.”
GE Oil & Gas will design, test and manufacture the new 20-ksi BOPs and risers at the company’s recently expanded Houston Technology Center in Texas.
Related: BP, Maersk Drilling Developing New Breed of Offshore Drilling Rigs
“GE’s new deepwater BOP system is a key part of Maersk and BP’s strategy to safely expand offshore field development into previously unexplored areas,” said Claus V. Hemmingsen , CEO of Maersk Drilling. “With its redesigned components, GE’s new BOP technology addresses the needs of drilling companies for BOPs that efficiently operate at extremely high pressures.”
“This is a key milestone in progression of BP’s delivery of Project 20K technologies and supports our industry relationships toward the delivery of standard industry solutions,” said Gary Jones , vice president of BP’s Global Wells Organization.
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A peek at the prototype #deepwater 20ksi ram BOP inside the @ge_oilandgas lab in #Houston , http://t.co/FgXinINDwy pic.twitter.com/XftyarT5F4
— Cameron Wallace (@CameronSWallace) June 24, 2014
“The 20-ksi drilling system being developed will include a number of new real-time monitoring and condition-based maintenance technologies aimed at improving uptime by reducing unplanned maintenance,” said Way. “From higher performance mechanicals to real-time monitoring and condition-based maintenance systems, this next-generation system can make accessible new offshore drilling frontiers.”
20K™ is a trade mark of BP plc.