OREANDA-NEWS. November 29, 2012. TNK-BP announces that OJSC Orenburgneft (a member of the TNK-BP Group of Companies) jointly with leading global oil field services company Weatherford has successfully completed a pilot project to deploy a motorized drilling system called MotarySteerableSystem (MSS), which will help achieve a 15% efficiency gain when drilling wells with complex trajectories. Around 20 mln rubles has been invested in the project, reported the press-centre of TNK-BP.

TNK-BP is systematically pursuing a strategy of deploying new technological solutions at its production assets to boost efficiency and achieve acceptable project economics. When drilling complex wells with a large step-out the required level of efficiency cannot be achieved using standard equipment. TNK-BP and Weatherford have deployed the unique MSS drilling system at the Shirokodolskoye, Garshinskoe and Morgunovskoe fields, improving well construction speeds by 10-15% and greatly reducing drilling risks. The cost of using MSS in complex wells is comparable with that of drilling ordinary wells using standard equipment. In 2013 the Company plans to scale up the technology to fields in Yamal and East Siberia.

“Around 30% of the wells in the Orenburg fields have a complex structure, which means additional expenditure on drilling,” said Igor Rustamov, General Director, Orenburgneft, “MSS greatly increases the speed and quality of drilling and reduces the risks, while also holding down costs to previous levels.”