Ferdinand Magellan: Gusto MSC’s largest drillship design to date

GustoMSC presents the Magellan-class drillship, the next step in deep-water drillship design.

Ferdinand Magellan Gusto MSC's largest drillship design to date

Named after Ferdinand Magellan who was the first sea explorer to circumnavigate the earth, GustoMSC developed the Magellan-class drillship in the explorer’s own tradition of endurance, perseverance and determination. The Magellan is outperforming the current generation fleet with respect to redundancy, autonomy, safety and load carrying capacity.

Advanced new drilling techniques and developments in drilling equipment, together with the growing interest in units that could drill in deeper water and have more operational flexibility and capability, prompted thinking about a new class of drilling vessel.

“The design is the result of a specific focus on operators’ requirements. We also received feedback on our existing products and, of course, learn from the industry in general. After the Macondo incident in 2010, for example, there were many recommendations concerning operational procedures and rig design – with an emphasis on safety. We naturally wanted to incorporate that information into the new design,” says Sjoerd Hendriks, Design Manager of the Magellan project.

The Magellan is the largest drillship that GustoMSC has designed to date. The design backbone of the ship consists of the well-established and field-proven principles of its predecessors. The most important step forward is that the Magellan design is equipped for 20,000 psi well-control systems, including the associated increases in capacity, such as high hook loads and setback capacities. Magellan’s ability to accommodate higher pressure, high variable loads, mud volumes and setback capacities and incorporate any type of advanced drilling techniques – such as managed pressure drilling and dual gradient systems – means it is equipped to drill well beyond the current market limit of 12,000 feet.

 

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Press Release, June 16, 2014