ICON completes world's deepest CAN-ductor deployment and recovery
WEST PERTH -- The world's deepest installation of a CAN-ductor (Conductor Anchor Node suction pile with integrated conductor) well foundation has been completed after being successfully recovered from Woodside Energy's Ferrand-1 deepwater exploration well in the Carnarvon basin, offshore Western Australia.
The CAN-ductor was designed, supplied, installed and recovered by a venture comprising Norwegian developers Neodrill AS and Australian offshore installation contractor ICON Engineering Pty Ltd using a Siem Offshore Anchor Handling Tug in a water depth of 1,492 m.The CAN-ductor replaced the traditional well conductor casing, and provided significant additional structural capacity for the high pressure, high temperature well drilled in relatively weak soil. Its use reduced the number of rig days compared to the traditional method of installing the surface conductor and wellhead, and eliminated the HSE risk of lifting and landing numerous joints of heavy conductor.The recovery of the CAN after the completion of the well allows for its re-use in other wells.
The 16-m high, 6-m diameter CAN-ductor was pre-installed in February 2018 in preparation for the semisubmersible drilling rig's later arrival in April for the drilling operations.
After the drilling was completed the CAN-ductor was then successfully retrieved and is now available for re-use on either an exploration or development well.
For production well applications the CAN-ductor provides a high capacity, structural foundation that can be used to support components of the subsea production system (SPS). These SPS components, which would otherwise be placed alongside wells on separate foundations, can be pre-installed onto the CAN saving installation time and allowing the acceleration of first production in many cases.
In a different application the CAN-ductor allows highly deviated wells to be drilled to develop shallow reservoirs.
