Maersk Drilling orders 20.000-psi blowout preventer from GE

GE Oil & Gas has received an order for what the company says is the offshore oil and gas industry’s first 20,000-psi (20-ksi) rated deepwater blowout preventer (BOP) stack and riser systems from Copenhagen, Denmark-based Maersk Drilling.

The equipment, due to enter service in the first half of 2018, is being supplied for Maersk and BP as part of their joint Project 20K™ Rigs design program. BP and Maersk Drilling announced their joint study agreement in February 2013 to develop conceptual engineering designs for a new generation of advanced drilling rigs that will be critical to unlocking the next frontier of deepwater oil and gas resources. Called 20K Rigs, the BP-Maersk Drilling agreement will result in deepwater drilling vessels designed to efficiently operate in high-pressure and high-temperature reservoirs up to 20,000 psi and 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

“GE Oil & Gas is proud to join with Maersk and BP in developing the 20-ksi drilling system technologies to meet new ultra-deepwater production goals,” said Andrew Way, president and CEO of GE’s Drilling & Surface business—GE Oil & Gas. “By drawing upon GE’s technology portfolio and history of operational excellence, we are providing one of the most advanced drilling systems the industry has to offer.”

GE Oil & Gas will design, test and manufacture the new 20-ksi BOPs and risers at the company’s recently expanded Houston Technology Center in Texas.

Related:  BP, Maersk Drilling Developing New Breed of Offshore Drilling Rigs

“GE’s new deepwater BOP system is a key part of Maersk and BP’s strategy to safely expand offshore field development into previously unexplored areas,” said Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling. “With its redesigned components, GE’s new BOP technology addresses the needs of drilling companies for BOPs that efficiently operate at extremely high pressures.”

“This is a key milestone in progression of BP’s delivery of Project 20K technologies and supports our industry relationships toward the delivery of standard industry solutions,” said Gary Jones, vice president of BP’s Global Wells Organization.

“The 20-ksi drilling system being developed will include a number of new real-time monitoring and condition-based maintenance technologies aimed at improving uptime by reducing unplanned maintenance,” said Way. “From higher performance mechanicals to real-time monitoring and condition-based maintenance systems, this next-generation system can make accessible new offshore drilling frontiers.”

20K™ is a trade mark of BP plc.