AGR developing MPD drilling solution in US$5.1m deal with Statoil

8/30/2012 9:27 AM EST

AGR has joined forces with Statoil to  develop a new 
generation of Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) 
solution for floating rigs.

This phase of the project is worth US$5.1m (NOK31m). 

The development project will build on two 
technologies. The first is AGR's EC-Drill system, 
which has been used successfully on two deep-water 
wells in the Gulf of Mexico since its introduction 
earlier this year. A shallow-water version of EC-
Drill has been used previously off Brazil, Egypt and 
in the Caspian Sea.

EC-Drill is a step-change solution, solving a 
challenge commonly encountered in deep-water wells: 
drilling close to the fracture pressure. This is 
achieved by manipulating the bottom-hole pressure by 
changing the level of drilling mud in the riser. 

The second technology is the Low Riser Return System 
(LRRS) developed by Ocean Riser Systems. 

Both EC-Drill and LRRS have been nominated in the 
forthcoming ONS Innovation Awards in Norway.

Last month saw the union of Norwegian companies Ocean 
Riser Systems (ORS) and Enhanced Drilling Solutions 
(EDS), part of AGR, to form EDS-ORS.

For further information, please contact: 
EVP, David Hine at +47 9597 4682