Alcoa announced that its Alcoa Oil & Gas business has successfully deployed 1,800 m (5,905 ft) of aluminum alloy drill pipe in the Iron Duke well offshore Seria, Brunei. Alcoa partnered with Brunei Shell Petroleum Co. Sdn. Bhd.

The well is considered among the most complex and deviated in the BSP system, with three "S" curves and a long horizontal section of approximately 5,000 m, or about 3.0 miles long. It was successfully drilled to a total depth of 7,485 m (4.6 miles) in about 60 m (197 ft) of water.

"The Alcoa aluminum alloy drill pipe, which is produced in 30-ft (9.1-m) aluminum tube sections and joined together using standard steel connections, is about 40% lighter than all steel pipes and has the potential to significantly reduce drill-string hook load and related drilling torque and drag," said Jay Grissom, Alcoa’s marketing director.

Brunei Shell plans to use the technology on additional wells in Brunei and its New Zealand operations.