On July 31, Mærsk Gallant drilled the Solaris ultra HPHT well to a total depth of 5,941 m, TVD.

“We have broken a number of records during the Solaris operation. But this achievement is second to none. There was a lot of cheering in the driller’s cabin that day,” says Sadi Ozturk, assistant rig manager on Mærsk Gallant.

He continues: “The Solaris exploration well is one of the most challenging wells in the North Sea. All crew members are very excited about this achievement.”

Demanding requirements

In the Solaris project–together with the customer, Total E&P Norge–Maersk Drilling has taken a 15,000 psi rig and adapted the equipment and procedures in order to drill a reservoir section, where predicted pore pressures are well in excess of 15,000 psi.

The demanding requirements of the customer have led to a wide variety of modifications on the rig.

The record list

Given the extreme circumstances, the rig team on Mærsk Gallant has set several records during the operation, including the largest and most complicated BOP stack rig up; the biggest cement job (600 m3 cement slurry); the heaviest casing run (1,2 Mlb); first time a 20K BOP has been nippled up (installed) and used to drill an ultra HPHT well.

At the moment, the crew members on Mærsk Gallant are in the process of plugging and abandoning the well and expect to commence the rig move in the beginning of September.