Fugro investigation across Australia’s North West Shelf supports jackup campaign
HOUSTON -- Fugro’s Seafloor Drill 2 (SFD2) has completed a challenging multi-site investigation across the North West Shelf of Australia, encountering variable calcareous sediments and delivering results to support a jackup drilling campaign.
The work was performed in water depths up to 112 m and required in situ testing and sampling to a total length of 323 m. The SFD2 proved effective in sampling some of the world’s most difficult seabed sediments, from ultra-soft carbonate muds to highly weathered limestone.
Its success can be attributed to a number of factors including the flexibility provided by the proprietary wireline system, the innovative approach to mud supply and a ‘hands-on’ approach by the geotechnical drillers. An additional advantage was the ability to airfreight the SFD2 to Australia.
Ian Finnie, Fugro’s integrated geosciences’ lead, helped scope the investigations and interpret the seabed conditions for the client. “Seafloor Drill 2 has proved to be ideally suited to the calcareous sediments that we have around Australia and is a game changer in Fugro’s ability to support the offshore industry in Western Australia and South East Asia."
