Originally published 24 May 2018.
A Norwegian-Australian partnership has won its first Australasian contract, securing a subsea wellhead foundation contract for Woodside Energy’s Ferrand exploration well in the Carnarvon Basin — a deal built around a drilling innovation that saves rig days and reduces operational and environmental risk.
Norway’s Neodrill AS and Perth-based ICON Engineering Pty Ltd teamed up to rent and install Neodrill’s patented suction-based Conductor Anchor Node, the CAN-ductor, as a cost-saving drilling initiative for exploration and production wells. The Ferrand well sits in around 1,500 metres of water in Block WA-404-P, approximately 260km north-west of Dampier, Western Australia, and was scheduled to be drilled in the second quarter of 2018.
What Is the CAN-ductor?
The CAN-ductor offers a novel, patented approach to installing a subsea wellhead foundation, developed so drilling conductors can be pre-installed using anchor handling or light construction vessels instead of more costly drilling rigs — significantly reducing drilling and fleet costs as well as risk. In principle, Neodrill’s base product combines a specially designed suction anchor with a centrally placed single length of conductor, giving a strong well foundation with verified load capacity and reduced operational and technical risk. The suction anchor pushes the centre conduit into the seabed and provides the necessary top support for the conductor. For exploration wells, the CAN can be removed and reused — which is why ICON and Neodrill offer it as a rental option.
“The CAN-ductor’s ability to be deployed by a less expensive vessel, such as an Anchor Handling (AHTS) or Construction Support Vessel (CSV) means the operator’s drilling budget can be reduced, whether they are exploration or production wells.”
“This is in addition to the higher operational and accidental well load capacities, fatigue risk mitigation and reduced environmental footprint,” he said.
Since 2000, Neodrill has experience on numerous offshore projects using various installation techniques, which led it to develop the Conductor Anchor Node design.
“The CAN-ductor has proven to save 3-4 rig days including plugging and abandonment (P&A) operations,” said Neodrill Chief Executive Officer Jostein Aleksandersen.
The Conductor Anchor Node (CAN) is an accepted North Sea conductor supporting technology
Why ICON and Neodrill Partnered for the Ferrand Well
ICON Managing Director David Field said pre-installing a Neodrill CAN-ductor with a light vessel, instead of a drilling rig, would mean cutting days from the rig time required to safely drill offshore wells. “The CAN-ductor’s ability to be deployed by a less expensive vessel, such as an Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) or Construction Support Vessel (CSV), means the operator’s drilling budget can be reduced, whether they are exploration or production wells,” he said. “This is in addition to the higher operational and accidental well load capacities, fatigue risk mitigation and reduced environmental footprint.”
Since 2000, Neodrill has built experience across numerous offshore projects using various installation techniques, which led it to develop the Conductor Anchor Node design. “The CAN-ductor has proven to save 3–4 rig days, including plugging and abandonment (P&A) operations,” said Neodrill Chief Executive Officer Jostein Aleksandersen.
The CAN-ductor offers many benefits over traditional well designs
A Proven Partnership
“We are very happy having secured our first project with Woodside together with ICON, and are very optimistic for the future,” Mr Aleksandersen said. He said it was a logical tie-up for Neodrill to partner with ICON, which at the time had a 20-year history of offshore installations and innovative engineering solutions.
A CAN-ductor installation sequence can be viewed on YouTube. For further information, contact Neodrill AS or ICON Engineering.
A Conductor Anchor Node (CAN) being fabricated for Woodside’s Ferrand-1 well
For further information please contact:
Neodrill AS
Jostein Aleksandersen, Chief Executive Officer
T: +47 52 97 31 64
A: Kanalsletta 4, 4033 Stavanger, Norway
E: [email protected] W: www.neodrill.com
ICON Engineering Pty Ltd
David Field, Managing Director
T: +61 8 6313 5500
A: Level 1, 50 Kings Park Road, West Perth WA 6005, Australia
