Repsol To Deploy Enhanced Drilling Solution In North Sea

Spanish oil and gas major Repsol has secured the services of Enhanced Drilling's Riserless Mud Recovery system on a multi-well program commencing in May 2022 in the North Sea.

Repsol has turned a decommissioning project into a producing asset, where some of the existing infrastructure and design will be reused together with new facilities.

In October last year, the company achieved first oil from the YME field in the Egersund Basin, approximately 130km from the Norwegian coastline. Yme is one of the 14 key upstream projects that Repsol is focusing on within the framework of the company's 2021–2025 Strategic Plan, streamlining to a leaner portfolio of short-cycle projects with attractive economics. The main deliveries to the Yme project are from Norwegian suppliers which contributes to local ripple effects.

To help unlock the recoverable reserves at the Yme field, Enhanced Drilling’s RMR system will be used together with the Cuttings Transport System to drill three top-holes sections and three 17 1⁄2” sections with mud returned to the rig without the use of a riser. The planned batch campaign will set all three top-holes concurrently.

By using the RMR system, not only can the engineered, weighted drilling fluid be used to mitigate any top-hole instability challenges, the system also enables the well to be monitored - a unique benefit in top-hole sections.

Also, as all drilling fluid is returned to the rig, no fluid or chemicals are released during drilling – this provides protection to the sea, saves operating costs, and reduces the required mud volume compared to Pump-And-Dump operations.

“We are very pleased that Repsol has chosen our zero-emissions RMR and Cuttings Transport System (CTS) solutions for this project. Overcoming top-hole instability can be a challenge, but, with over 1000 wells reached to date, our proven offshore technology not only helps create top-hole stability and associated cost savings but also reduces emissions and discharge to sea during drilling,” said Bernt Eikemo, VP Sales & Marketing.

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