Fugro’s Seafloor Drill 2 Completes Site Investigation

Fugro’s Seafloor Drill 2 (SFD2) has completed a multisite investigation across the North West Shelf of Australia, encountering variable calcareous sediments and delivering results to support a jack-up drilling campaign.

The work was performed in water depths up to 112 meters and required in situ testing and sampling to a total length of 323 meters. The SFD2 proved effective in sampling some of the world’s most difficult seabed sediments, from ultra-soft carbonate muds to highly weathered limestone. According to Fugro, its success can be attributed to a number of factors including the flexibility provided by the proprietary wireline system, the innovative approach to mud supply and a ‘hands-on’ approach by the geotechnical drillers. An additional advantage was the ability to airfreight the SFD2 to Australia.

Andrew Cooper, Fugro’s Seafloor Drill Project Manager, oversaw this milestone from Fugro’s vessel. “Our continued success with seafloor drill technology reflects the hard work and dedication of our operational staff,” he explained. “Demonstrating a commitment to our core values and QHSE principles set the tone early for this project and this continued into the overall experience for our client.”

Ian Finnie, Fugro’s Integrated Geosciences’ Lead, helped scope the investigations and interpret the seabed conditions for the client. “Seafloor Drill 2 has proved to be ideally suited to the calcareous sediments that we have around Australia and is a game changer in Fugro’s ability to support the offshore industry in Western Australia and South East Asia. This drilling technology significantly enhances Fugro’s fully integrated geoscience service, from optimally scoping data acquisition, through successful execution, and then into engineering design and construction support.”