A new drilling rig, designed by Saudi Aramco engineers and built according to the company’s specifications, has started drilling its first well, marking a milestone as the company moves toward greater localization of drilling services.

Rising 162 feet above the rolling dunes outside of Ain Dar is the latest addition to Saudi Aramco’s drilling rig fleet.  The rig will give its crew of Saudi operators and engineers an opportunity to test out the capabilities of the most up-to-date drill rig in Saudi Arabia and the GCC region.

Rig project leader Khaled Al-Said explained that the rig is an example of the company’s commitment to Saudization. “All the rig crew are Saudi employees, and the young engineers are Saudis. This is one thing we are proud of: every step, from A to Z, from the development of scope of work to the commissioning in the field, is being done by Saudis,” he said.

Best in class

Abdul Hameed A Al Rushaid, executive director for Drilling & Workover (D&WO), said the arrival of the rig to Saudi Aramco’s company-owned drilling rig fleet will maintain the company’s role in ensuring safety remains the top priority. “Among all drilling contractors, I am fully confident that Saudi Aramco’s rigs will be best in class in performing their operations safely and efficiently,” he said.

The rig is just the latest in a fleet of onshore and offshore rigs owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, but it is proof that the company is well on its way to further enhancing the quality and the economic impact of its drilling operations.

“This is the first rig built from scratch for Saudi Aramco,” said Fahad Al-Mulaik, manager of the Southern Area Oil Drilling Department, which includes the Saudi Aramco-owned drill rig program. “By tailoring the rig design to fit our needs, we can make sure that we get the drilling services we need while setting an example for the highest standards of safety, efficiency, and environmental protection.”

The Saudi Aramco-owned drill rig programme is a key enabler in the company’s strategy for diversifying and strengthening the Saudi economy through the creation of drilling JVs, Al-Mulaik added.

“The company benefits, because these rigs will always be there for us when we need drilling services. But the country’s economy also benefits, because the JVs will begin building drill rigs locally, and that creates new jobs,” he said.

Talal Al-Zahrani, drilling maintenance superintendent for the rig, said the addition of this 3,000 horsepower rig to Saudi Aramco’s fleet will be a critical contribution for the company to the new onshore drilling JV with Nabors.

“This rig is a landmark in the Saudi Aramco rig fleet,” he said. “It is equipped with the most sophisticated equipment that enhances health, safety, and environment standards in all aspects.”

Habes Al-Enezy, the operations foreman, said that the rig sets new standards for environmental compliance. “This rig is designed to operate with zero spillage,” he said, pointing to grates and drainage ducts on the rig floor that will gather up any liquid that spills during the drilling process.

The rig is the most technologically advanced in the Kingdom and in the region. Its 3,000 horsepower draw works give it the ability to drill wells 30,000 ft deep. Mud-control systems and a cementing tank give the drilling crew the capability of controlling pressure during drilling, and the blowout preventer system is certified up to 15,000 pounds per sq inch (psi).

But what makes the rig a state-of-the-art drill is the level of automation that is built into every single function. To minimize the risk of injury, the design team insisted on equipment such as an “iron roughneck” and a “stand transfer vehicle (STV)” to carry out more risky tasks and to minimize the danger to human employees.

For the most dangerous part of the job — assembling and disassembling a drill rig onsite, also known as “rig up” and “rig down” — the rig has created a remote Drill Rig Control Cabinet on the ground below where a driller can complete the final tasks, using remote real-time video from cameras placed on all parts of the rig floor. – TradeArabia News Service