THE BIGGEST, BADDEST RIG EVER:
BP's massive new drill rig arrives at Beaufort Sea
ktuu.com (with photos and video)
by Rhonda McBride
Thursday, August 6, 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- In the oil industry they call it "ultra extended-reach drilling."
BP says it's the way of the future, and it is leading the way with its Liberty project on the Beaufort Sea.
A massive drill rig arrived there this week, the biggest, baddest rig ever dreamed of, one that will revolutionize oil drilling in Alaska, perhaps the world.
The rig recently arrived in pieces at a satellite drilling field at Endicott, like giant Legoes, that when assembled will weigh 7,000 tons and stand 240 feet high -- taller than BP's building in Midtown.
"I describe it as probably the most capable drilling rig operating anywhere in the world," said Darryl Luoma, who has worked on the project for five years. "It's specifically designed to drill what will be the longest wells -- probably the most challenging wells in the industry worldwide."
When drilling begins next year the rig will bore through eight miles of sandstone like a giant straw made out of steel pipe to reach a reservoir with 100 million barrels of oil.
While the rig is big, it's designed to leave a smaller footprint by drilling out, rather than just down. It will go under the sea bed, does not require building any new islands or roads, and makes use of existing infrastructure.
"We want to be known for using technology in that way, where it makes good business sense and it makes good environmental sense," Luoma said.
Liberty will breathe new life into Endicott's production facilities, which have not been used to capacity.
"At peak production -- late '80s early 1990s -- Endicott produced around 120,000 barrels a day at peak," Luoma said. "Today it's producing under 15,000 barrels a day."
BP will use horizontal drilling techniques that will give the industry unheard of reach. Eventually the hope is to drill six wells from the location.
"Success at Liberty opens up all kinds of opportunities," Luoma said.
Some in the oil industry hope that the technology might be used to tap the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. BP won't go that far but says success at Liberty will allow more wells to be developed in an environmentally sensitive way.
That will be the reward, BP says, for pushing into new frontiers.
"That will be the farthest reach and deepest well drilled in our industry," Luoma said.
Drilling is expected to begin next year, with almost 200 people need to run the operation. BP says they'll need three months of training because the rig is so huge and so powerful.
Production from Liberty should start up in 2011. BP says the project could add an extra year of life to the trans-Alaska pipeline.
BP pioneered extended-reach drilling at the Wytch Farm field in the North Sea, and it's used the technology on the North Slope to tap into reservoirs that are around three-and-a-half miles away. Liberty will more than double that reach.
Contact Rhonda McBride at rmcbride@ktuu.com |
