We started this journey years ago with the development of Active Heave Drilling™ (AHD) technology. AHD has already set new standards for compensation accuracy, improved wireline life, workable load range, and rig safety by providing proven, active-heave motion compensation for drillships, semisubmersible drilling rigs, and floating drilling/production platforms. Costly, heavy compensation systems and machinery are eliminated, and the available capacity increases the operational window for the vessel, drastically reducing operating costs.
Driving another step-change in the offshore drilling industry, we just completed the manufacturing of the world’s largest drawworks, the AHD-1700. The design for this unit came about after we took a holistic approach to our 20K initiative. Recognizing the increasing casing weights and longer wells that will be needed on 20K projects, we had to design an AHD drawworks that could handle increased hookload and heave capacities. The AHD-1700, powered by a whopping seven motors, features a maximum hookload of 1,700 tons and full heave compensation. The unit’s fast line pull comes in at 240,601 lb, while it has a maximum continuous power of 10,500 horsepower. Additionally, the maximum block travel is 205 ft at 16 lines and fourth layer.
With our recent 20K BOP stack sale and now with the AHD-1700, we’re charting a path for the world’s most challenging oil and gas prospects. Congratulations to the team for a job well done on this marvel of engineering and design.
