SOPHISTICATED managed pressure drilling (MPD) applications have helped operators tackle difficult wells in places including West Africa and Brazil’s pre-salt, and it is now making inroads in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico.
Based on the precise manipulation of downhole pressure via instruments instead of the traditional approach relying upon the weight of drilling mud, Marathon Oil recently used MPD to drill its Solomon wildcat in the Walker Ridge area of the US Gulf — a first-of-its kind application of the technology on a deep-water floater in the region.
It
