Nekkar subsidiary secures third rig services contract for drilling automation

Intellilift, a Nekkar ASA subsidiary, and InteliWell have signed a contract to provide drilling automation services on the Transocean Deepwater Conqueror, an ultra-deepwater drillship operating in the Gulf of America. InteliWell, a joint venture formed to accelerate autonomous well construction, will focus initial automation services on automated tripping and drilling connections using its InteliAutomate and InteliTrak applications.

The InteliWell platform was installed and commissioned over a four-day period in September. This contract marks the third deployment of the InteliWell automation platform, following an ongoing contract with Transocean Norge offshore Norway and an extended trial also in the Gulf of America.

For Intellilift, the contract comprises a fixed-sum project plus Software-as-a-Service fees throughout the contract period, as InteliWell has contracted Intellilift to deliver services for its software products. The platform is expected to deliver consistency, efficiency, automated well protection, and reduce cognitive load for the Deepwater Conqueror team.