Archer, a global supplier of drilling and well services, has commenced operations to permanently plug and abandon (PP&A) 12 gas wells on Statoil’s Heimdal platform in the Norwegian North Sea.
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John Lechner, President North Sea and Executive Vice President, Archer, said: “I am very pleased with the excellent work by both the onshore and offshore Archer teams in commissioning, mobilising, interfacing and installing the Archer Topaz MDR for the Statoil Heimdal PP&A campaign.
“The project being on schedule and budget, with a spotless QHSE record, is quite an achievement. Now we will focus on continuing the same standard of performance for the PP&A well campaign to demonstrate Archer’s capability to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective plug and abandonment services to the offshore platform market.”
The Archer Topaz MDR follows the design of Archer’s first modular rig, the Archer Emerald, which was a breakthrough in the field of offshore drilling. Archer’s MDRs are designed to stand alone. Operating in line with current NORSOK regulations, Archer’s MDR fleet can be rigged up on most offshore installations and perform the majority of drilling operations typically carried out from a platform, including completions and plug and abandonment.
Archer’s modular rig packages are lighter and more compact than alternatives, reducing the platform size required, the size of the drilling crew and the associated construction costs. They can be tailored to meet field-specific requirements, providing operators with a cost-efficient alternative to both mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) and traditional platform drilling rigs on existing and planned installations.
The flexibility of the Archer Topaz made it well-suited for deployment on the Heimdal field centre where, in addition to the ongoing PP&A activity, installation upgrades are underway to keep the field operational as a gas processing and distribution hub until 2030.
