Johan Sverdrup is one of the five largest oil fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. With expected resources of between 2.1—3.1 billion barrels of oil equivalents, it will also be one of the most important industrial projects in Norway in the next 50 years. The development and operation of this enormous field will generate revenue and provide jobs for coming generations.
Brownline is proud to be part of this enormous project. In January 2017, we provided steering services for one of our international clients, who executed a very complex drilling for their client Statoil.
The drilling was an alternative design for a complicated cross country pipeline route, where Statoil decided to build the challenging alternative, where the limitations of HDD drillings had to be stretched.
The drilling was executed in solid granite to accommodate a 900 mm / 36 inch crude pipeline.
This 283 km / 195 mi long pipeline will transport the crude oil from the platform to the existing refinery in Mongstad.
The Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool was a crucial part of the drilling, where extremely accurate drilling was required to pull the 900 mm / 36 inch heavy wall pipeline in the 2624 foot long drilled tunnel.
Complicated soil with varying quality of granite, in combination with the allowable tolerances when drilling a pilot for a 1200 mm / 48 inch hole, and the depth of over 300 m / 1000 foot, made the choice of the Gyro Steering Tool indispensable.
Complicating factors
- 310 m / 1017 feet deep drilling
- Strict allowances for pipeline radius
- Entry angle of 26°
- Varying rock formations between 100-300 MPa and precarious changes in the layers