iSURVEY completes first remote rig positioning project in Norway

iSURVEY, a provider of survey and positioning services, has completed what it says is a first-ever remote positioning project for Shell’s Norwegian subsidiary.

iSURVEY said on Thursday that the project took place last month as part of A/S Norske Shell’s drilling campaign using the Scarabeo 8 semi-submersible drilling rig.

The campaign utilized the company’s survey support remotely from its Oslo headquarters.

According to the company, this marks the first time remote positioning was applied for a regular DP drill rig move operation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The survey equipment was initially mobilized on board and then operated from the iSURVEY remote survey control room in Oslo.

Surveyors could follow the operation onshore as required by the operator, and logging of final position was done successfully through the iCONTROL solution. A direct communication line between the control room and the bridge on the Scarabeo 8 was also used.

Tomas Frafjord, senior project surveyor in A/S Norske Shell, said: “[…] we are pleased to have achieved an industry first, working with iSURVEY, with this being the first time remote survey support has been utilized on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.”

Øivind Røegh, the group CEO at iSURVEY, added: “We were exceptionally pleased to support the drilling campaign for A/S Norske Shell. The Norwegian Continental Shelf is, and remains, a target for iSURVEY and to be able to offer our services remotely was a fantastic opportunity, which brought many benefits to our client. We are determined to pursue this way of working in the future and give our clients further cost savings, which is central for the future of our industry.”

It is worth stating that the Scarabeo 8 drilled a wildcat well near the Knarr field in the North Sea in July. Earlier in August, Shell used the rig to drill wildcat well 6304/3-1 in the Norwegian Sea.