As the public debate about drilling in Arctic waters continues, and in light of incidents such as Shell’s Noble Discoverer losing its mooring and drifting uncontrolled toward an Alaskan shore late last month, the petroleum industry can use all the positive innovations it can get.
“Innovation in any industry should result in being able to do something more efficiently, less costly, with increased performance, or, ideally, all three,” writes Jerry Greenberg, contributing editor at World Oil Online. “In the offshore industry, as operators wade into ever-increasing water depths accompanied by ever-increasing costs, drilling contractors, rig designers and equipment manufacturers assist in that effort by developing bigger, or sometimes smaller, but efficient equipment for deep and ultra-deepwater regions.”
By reducing the size of drilling equipment, companies like Shell are presented with a few game-changing options. They can enjoy the benefit of increased deck space on active rigs, or they can reduce overall vessel size while still maintaining functional equipment, thus allowing easier passage through narrow waterways like the Panama Canal.
Through new and innovative metal joining methods, these are all becoming viable options for operators in the oil and natural gas industry. The size of drilling towers and other rig-based equipment can be reduced by eliminating the need for cantilevers to be transversely skidded into place, according to Greenberg. Sensors and other instrumentation that improves on rig analysis of the drilling process also improves the performance of drilling operations.
“No flexible connections are required, due to less-complicated interface between the cantilever and the drill floor,” he explains.
The added benefit of cost reduction frees up money for additional safety measures, oil spill response plans, new job creation and more. The ripple effect is significant, to say the least.
Also of significant value is the efficiency of equipment built using these metal soldering techniques when operating in extreme temperatures and sea conditions, like those found in Arctic waters. With environmental activist groups and the media closely watching drilling activity in that area, every opportunity to increase equipment efficiency and reduce the risk of accidents is an invaluable one.