KCA Deutag Gets Drilling Contract Renewal from StatoilHydro

KCA Deutag Drilling Norge’s contract with StatoilHydro for the provision of drilling services on the Kvitebjorn platform has been renewed for a further two years until March 2010. This is the third of three options exercised by StatoilHydro and means that KCA Deutag now has the drilling contracts on seven StatoilHydro installations until 2010. The other six are on the Oseberg, Brage and Njord fields and are valid until July 2010.

KCA Deutag has drilled on Kvitebjorn since the platform was installed in the summer of 2003 and has cooperated closely with StatoilHydro in the development and use of Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) in this field.

A fully automated MPD package was successfully used last year to drill two severely depleted HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) reservoir sections in the Kvitebjorn field, which marked the first time this technology has been used in the Norwegian North Sea. On the second well the MPD equipment and techniques were successfully used during running and cementing the 7" liner.

StatoilHydro is currently training its Gullfaks C crews in MPD operations on KCA Deutag's Drilling and Advanced Rig Training (DART) drilling simulator and well engineering system in Aberdeen in preparation for the start of these operations later this year.

Alan Robertson, StatoilHydro's MPD Drilling Advisor, said, "DART is a fantastic facility that really allows us to have concentrated Managed Pressure Drilling training for our Gullfaks C drilling crews in a safe, flexible, and very realistic interactive environment."

To date, more than 800 drilling crew members and 200 drilling engineers have been trained on DART worldwide. KCA Deutag’s expertise in this simulator technology has been used to set up and manage simulator training facilities for oil and gas operators in Rosharon (USA), Houston (USA), Baku (Azerbaijan), Sakhalin (Russia), Tyumen (Russia) and Dubai (UAE) as well as in the UK.