Page 7 - NorthAmOil Week 34 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

Transocean will upgrade
a second drillship to
handle pressures of
20,000 psi.

Similar technology is required for Shenan- Paleogene wells. However, Usoro pointed to
doah. Transocean said in a statement this week other smaller companies successfully taking on
that the Shenandoah programme comprises Paleogene projects, as LLOG did with Buckskin,
two phases, with the first seeing the Deepwa- and said that 20,000 psi technology was taking
ter Atlas begin operations in the third quarter “huge leaps” in the Gulf.
of 2022, initially using dual blowout preventers
(BOPs) rated to 15,000 psi. Upon completion of What next?
the initial drilling programme, a 20,000 psi BOP The FID bodes well for more deepwater devel-
will be installed on the rig. Transocean said this opment in the Gulf, including further Paleogene
would turn the rig into its second asset with a projects. Indeed, TotalEnergies’ North Platte
20,000 psi-rated well control system. project appears to be moving forward, with Val-
The initial drilling programme is anticipated aris announcing in its second-quarter earnings
to last roughly 255 days, with 45-60 days then release earlier this month that its DS-11 rig had
needed for the BOP installation and commis- been awarded a contract for the high-pressure
sioning. The second phase of the project – well project. The rig will be restored from preser-
completion – is anticipated to take around 275 vation stack, and fitted with a 20,000 psi BOP
days, Transocean added. before being used for drilling at North Platte
“This is a significant milestone for Transo- from 2024. The fitting of the BOP will make
cean, [Beacon] and the Shenandoah partners, it the third drillship to be capable of handling Other
as we jointly venture into this new frontier of 20,000 psi environments, after Transocean’s two
ultra-deepwater drilling,” stated Transocean’s rigs. opportunities
president and CEO, Jeremy Thigpen. “We are And as Transocean’s Thigpen said, the list of close to
extremely pleased to have secured the maiden 20,000 psi opportunities in the Gulf is growing,
contract for the Deepwater Atlas; the first of across multiple companies. Meanwhile, other sanctioned
our two 8th generation ultra-deepwater drill- opportunities close to sanctioned projects also
ships that will enter the market in 2022, both of stand a better chance of being commercialised. projects also
which will be outfitted for 20,000 psi ultra-deep- Usoro identified the Yucatan, Coronado and
water well operations. We are very encouraged Monument discoveries, which have combined stand a better
by the growing list, across multiple customers, reserves of over 300mn barrels of oil equiva- chance of being
of 20,000 psi opportunities in the US Gulf of lent per day (boepd), as now having a higher
Mexico.” chance of commerciality thanks to the FID on commercialised.
Developing Shenandoah is expected to be Shenandoah.
transformational for privately owned Beacon. A “The Shenandoah joint venture secured
Wood Mackenzie senior research analyst, Mfon funds to the tune of $900mn for the first phase
Usoro, was quoted by media this week as saying of development, highlighting our view that
it would take the company from the being the even with net-zero goals, both oil and gas
20th largest producer in the Gulf to the 10th. companies and the global capital market still
Developing the project is expected to be see value in high-return, low-emission oil and
challenging, and indeed Beacon, which was gas projects,” she was quoted by separate media
formed in 2016, has not previously drilled any outlets as saying.™

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