Rig safety boost comes to light with Expro’s new ‘offshore world record’ in Gulf of America

September 8, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

U.S.-headquartered energy services provider Expro has shed light on its recent cementing technology milestone in deepwater well construction, which was achieved with the deployment of a casing string, said to be the heaviest to date, at a significant project in the Gulf of America/U.S. Gulf of Mexico for an undisclosed company described as a super major.

Deepwater Titan drillship; Source: Transocean

While explaining that it has set a new benchmark in deepwater well construction using its advanced Blackhawk Gen III wireless top drive cement head with SKYHOOK technology, Expro elaborates that this operation, conducted aboard Transocean’s Deepwater Titan eight-generation ultra-deepwater drillship in the Gulf of America, has enhanced rig safety and efficiency.

Facing casing high tensile hook loads resulting from deep casing set points, the operation demanded a cementing solution engineered for extreme conditions. The U.S. firm underlines that the casing deployment, with a maximum hook load of 2.849 million pounds, exceeded all prior offshore records.

The company claims to have leveraged its engineering expertise to deliver a bespoke, high-capacity cement head purpose-built for the unnamed operator’s campaign, which is believed to stand among the world’s most technically demanding well construction projects.

According to Expro, the Gen III cement head with SKYHOOK is deemed to stand as the only three-million-pound combined-rated cementing system in the industry, which is envisioned to deliver “unmatched safety, efficiency, andreliability in the most extreme offshore environments.”

When this cement head, seen as being optimal for rotating while cementing drill pipe-deployed casing strings or liners, is combined with the SKYHOOK cement line make-up device, it is perceived to bolster the safety of cementing operations by eliminating the need for personnel above the rig floor and improving rig efficiency.

Transocean’s fleet status report from July 2025 shows that the Deepwater Titan drillship has been working for Chevron since April 2023 and is expected to remain with the U.S. oil major until April 2028. With a maximum drilling depth of up to 40,000 feet, this rig is capable of operating in water depths of up to 12,000 feet.

Jeremy Angelle, VP of Well Construction at Expro, commented: “This deployment marks a step-change in offshore cementing, setting a new standard for ultra deep high pressure targets.

“We are extremely proud to have supported this operator in achieving this critical milestone with a robust, high-performance cement head that delivered safely and reliably under record-setting loads.”

Unlike other systems that require derating under high-pressure conditions, the company’s Gen III system, engineered forfull pressure and tensile capacity with 15,000 psi and three million pounds, maintained full performance and structural integrity throughout the operation.

Expro, which underscores that this U.S. project enabled it to set a new “offshore world record,” recently secured a deal with Woodside Energy for tubular running services (TRS) and cementing services at Mexico’s deepwater oil production facility.