Maersk Drilling Orders Industry’s First 20-ksi Deepwater Blowout Preventers for 2 Ultra-Deepwater Drilling Rigs

GE’S 20ksi BOP prototype in the GE Houston Technology Center test facility.

GE’S 20ksi BOP prototype in the GE Houston Technology Center test facility.

Maersk Drilling (Ticker: MAERSK-B.CO) has ordered four blowout preventers (BOPs) and two risers from GE Oil and Gas (Ticker: GE). The GE Oil and Gas BOPs will make it possible for offshore drillers to safely and efficiently operate in high-pressure and high-temperature reservoirs up to 20,000 pounds per square inch and 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Developed under the Project 20K™ agreement with BP (Ticker: BP), the industry’s first 20,000-psi (20-ksi) rated deepwater blowout preventer (BOP) stack and riser systems are intended to be delivered and deployed on two Maersk Drilling 20K™ Rigs by year-end 2018, subject to BP and Maersk Drilling taking the final investment decision on a 20K™ Rig contract.

The order signals an advance in the development of “a new breed of advanced technology drilling rigs that will be critical to unlocking the next frontier of deepwater oil and gas resources,” according to a Maersk press release.

GE’s 5k Blind Shear Rams severing a drill pipe at the tool joint. Both are new GE Oil & Gas technologies that will be included in the deepwater BOP system that is scheduled for delivery to Maersk and BP in 2018.

GE’s 5k Blind Shear Rams severing a drill pipe at the tool joint. Both are new GE Oil & Gas technologies that will be included in the deepwater BOP system that is scheduled for delivery to Maersk and BP in 2018.

“This project has been a unique opportunity to work closely with BP and co-create a new rig design that is safe and efficient and technologically best-in-class. The intention and our expectation is to see a 20K™ Rig contract realized next year,” said Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board of the Maersk Group.

BP announced the launch of Project 20K™ in February 2012, setting out its intention to develop technologies over the next decade in four key areas: well designs and completions; drilling rigs, riser and blowout prevention equipment; subsea production systems; and well intervention and containment.

A jointly staffed engineering team located in Houston with back-office support from Maersk Drilling’s headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, has been working on the engineering studies required to select the design of the 20K™ Rig, riser and blowout prevention systems.

“The GE blowout prevention technology will allow operators to explore deepwater basins that are inaccessible with conventional ’15-ksi hardware,” GE said in a press release.

BP has estimated the application of the 20K™ deepwater drilling technology across its own global portfolio alone could potentially access an additional 10-20 billion barrels of resources.

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

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