Deepwater and Ultra Deepwater
What is Deepwater and Ultra Deepwater Drilling?
Deepwater drilling is typically defined as operating in water depths of greater than 4,000 feet (1219 meters), whereas Ultra Deepwater starts at water depths greater than 7,000 feet (2,134 meters). There is no single definition for Deepwater and Ultra Deepwater, there are differences in the definition across different regions and companies around the world, as well as over time.
One thing we know for sure; The challenges of Deepwater drilling become greater the deeper we go.
Why is This a Challenge?
Deepwater drilling brings considerable challenges: high pressures and unstable overburden, Narrow Operating Windows, high temperatures, large number of strings with small annulus clearance, and increased risk of high intensity well control incidents.
The effects of Non-Productive time become more severe in deepwater operations as the cost of operations increase from shallower water depth operations.
What Are Your Options?
How to deal with Deepwater and Ultra Deepwater Operations.
EC-Drill® Controlled Mud Level technology is a Managed Pressure Drilling system. It gives you greater control of your bottom hole pressure as well as safety-enhancing features such as rapid gain and loss detection, plus the means to act swiftly to changes in the well. EC-Drill® is ideal for Narrow Operating windows, accurate monitoring of the well for gains and losses, managing lost circulation, and quickly responding to changes in the well by adjusting bottom hole pressure for drilling, cementing, and completion operations.
An overbalanced mud weight is used with controlled mud level enabling conventional drilling to be returned to at any time.

EC-Drill®
EC-Drill® is a Controlled Mud Level (CML) technology that allows manipulation of bottom hole pressure (BHP) while drilling a well. The system controls the BHP by adjusting the fluid level in the marine drilling riser, and thereby the hydrostatic pressure applied.