Australia’s major gas producer Santos has signed up to use AGR’s Riserless Mud Recovery (RMR®) system. The contract is for one exploration well to be drilled in Q3 2012 in the Browse Basin off North West Australia.
The main reason for using RMR® on this well is to be able to drill a deep 26” section with a closed loop mud system.
RMR® enables the use of weighted, engineered mud in the top-hole section. All mud and cuttings are returned to the rig with no discharge to the seabed. The top-hole section can be drilled more safely, quickly and with less impact on the environment. This will be the first time Santos is using the RMR® from AGR’s Enhanced Drilling Solutions (EDS)
Bernt Eikemo , AGR’s Vice President of the Enhanced Drilling Solutions (EDS) division (Asia Pacific), said: “AGR is looking forward to working together with Santos on this well. We hope that this is the start of a long, successful relationship with Santos in Australia.”
He added: “Our previous experiences with several operators in the Browse Basin and the North West Shelf have shown that RMR together with a proper engineered mud system gives excellent hole cleaning and the ability to drill very long riserless sections.”
[mappress] Press Release, August 2, 2012