Aker Solutions Gets Brazil Subsea MPD Contract

Aker Solutions' subsidiary Managed Pressure Operations will deliver managed pressure drilling (MPD) systems and riser gas handling services to Repsol Sinopec Brazil.

The three-year contract comes with an option for an additional two years of services. Repsol will use the equipment at an ultra-deepwater operation in the Campos Basin. The parties agreed not to disclose the value of the order.

The riser gas handling system helps control wellbore fluids during offshore oil and gas drilling. It detects an influx of gas into a drilling riser and diverts the gas to prevent a blowout.

MPD technology improves drilling performance and safety. The riser drilling device seals the area around the drill pipe during drilling operations. Integrating a riser drilling device with a riser gas handling system enables MPD drilling operations.

"This contract will demonstrate the unique capabilities of our riser gas handling safety system and introduce the first deep-water application of our riser drilling device into an offshore MPD system below the tensioner on a rig," says Charles Orbell, head of Managed Pressured Operations (MPO), which is part of Aker Solutions' drilling technologies business.

Aker Solutions in February 2013 acquired Managed Pressure Operations International, which provides knowledge and technologies within the emerging managed pressure drilling segment. MPD is used to improve safety and efficiency during drilling operations, enable access to new fields with challenging drilling conditions and enhance the life of mature fields.