Deeper water, higher deckloads and cheaper and faster drilling capacity with higher environmental standards are the drivers behind new designs evolving within the rig contracting community.
Several rig concepts under development are intended to fit these new requirements. Some concepts have secured long-term contracts and moved into the construction phase, while other designs still require a firm drilling commitment before a new hull can be laid.
Caspian Sea drilling operations are due to become less dependent on refurbished former Russian units this year when a completely new semisubmersible design from Mærsk Contractors debuts for ExxonMobil.
Aker's H3 design and variations, which account for about a third of the global offshore semisubmersible drilling fleet, are being given a new lease on life in several ways. One company, Fred. Olsen Energy, is looking to adapt this 30-year-old semisubmersible design for slender well drilling and as a dry completion unit, while Aker is looking at enhancing the H3 to provide a superior unit for the 21st century.
Halliburton has clearly seen the need to access a top-class design house and has moved to acquire GVA Consultants, which produced the semisubmersible platform for BP's Crazy Horse project in the US Gulf of Mexico and is working on a new rig for the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea.
Capacity is a big issue for the future, as top-class units will need to be capable of operating in water depths to 10,000 ft (3,050 m) and beyond. Noble Drilling is aiming to address this issue with its new Super EVA (economic value enhancement) semisubmersible, which will have a colossal 2 million-lb derrick load.

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