AGR has joined forces with Statoil to develop a new generation of managed pressure drilling (MPD) solution for floating rigs.

This phase of the project is worth US $5.1 million.

The development project will build on two technologies. The first is AGR’s EC-Drill system, which has been used successfully on two deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico since its introduction earlier this year. A shallow-water version of EC-Drill has been used previously off Brazil, Egypt, and in the Caspian Sea.

EC-Drill is a step-change solution, drilling close to the fracture pressure. This is achieved by manipulating the bottom-hole pressure by changing the level of drilling mud in the riser.

The second technology is the Low Riser Return System (LRRS) developed by Ocean Riser Systems.