Connectors for Offshore: Why Modular + Mobile + Flexible =Economic

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Piggy-Backing on Existing Platforms

On the one hand it is possible upgrade the aging platforms so that they are properly equipped for drilling. This is extremely expensive, however, because hourly labour rates offshore are five or six times higher than they are onshore, while the challenging nature of the location means that many jobs take longer than they would on dry land.

The alternative approach chosen by Max Streicher is to position its VDD 400.2 deep drilling rig as a piggy-back on the old platform. Once all the wells have been plugged, the VDD 400.2 can then be relocated to the next platform, or to a new drilling location. The rig must therefore be easy to transport and suitable for use on a whole range of offshore platforms.

How the Modular Rig Came to Be

The idea of a modular drilling rig arose through a request to Streicher from the Norwegian company Archer. Since January 2013, the precursor to the VDD 400.2 rig has been in use on the Maui A gas platform off the coast of New Zealand.

The latest version of the modular drilling concept, the VDD 400.2 rig itself, can reach depths of around 7,000 m. Made up from over 100 individual modules, it has a total unladen weight of around 1,300 tonnes and can handle a maximum drill string weight of 400 tonnes. Handling of the drill string segments, each up to 14 m long, is partly automated, so workers no longer need to tighten sections by hand and operate the winch from the deck. The VDD 400.2 meets the Norwegian safety standards (NORSOK), which are the strictest in the world.

Stacking for Extreme Efficiency

“This idea of ensuring suitability for use on as many platforms as possible makes it essential to come up with a physical concept for the drilling rig to ensure that the module set-up can be adjusted in an as small area as possible,” notes Erwin Nutz, who is responsible for the project at the Streicher Group. “The rig must also be able to accommodate all the necessary equipment. You can picture it as follows: all the modules are tightly stacked in order to take up as little floor space as possible.”

The complete floor plan of the VDD 400.2 rig, excluding the power generation skid, is just 14 m by 12 m. The rig can be adjusted along both its lateral and longitudinal axes, allowing an entire grid of drill holes with varying drill depths to be run-in on the gas field.

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