VESSEL REVIEW | Deepwater Atlas – First of two high-specification drillships for TransOcean

Switzerland-based US offshore drilling company Transocean has taken delivery of a new drilling vessel from Singapore shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine.

Deepwater Atlas is the first in a series of two drillships that were ordered by Transocean in 2014. Both vessels were designed by Norway's LMG Marin to be capable of 20,000psi drilling and completion operations and to operate at 12,000 feet (3,657 metres) water depth and drill to depths of 40,000 feet (12,192 metres). The hook-load hoisting capacity is rated at three million pounds (1,360 tonnes).

The 748- by 131-foot (228- by 40-metre), 63,000GT drillship boasts a large deck area, an efficient deck arrangement, a large moonpool for enhanced drilling operations, a DP3 system, and azimuthing thrusters. Operation is possible even in harsh environments.

Transocean CEO Jeremy Thigpen said the drillship's features will allow the company to access to previously untapped reservoirs. President and COO Keelan Adamson added that deepwater drilling times will be reduced thanks to the vessel's array of equipment.

Accommodations are available for 220 crewmembers.

Deepwater Atlas will also be capable of low-emission operations thanks to a hybrid power arrangement. Transocean said the hybrid configuration can also generate power that can be stored for later use. The propulsion delivers a speed of just over 10 knots.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Deepwater Atlas will be deployed for drilling operations at the Shenandoah oil field in the Gulf of Mexico on behalf of client BOE Exploration and Production beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022. Sister vessel Deepwater Titan will follow in the first quarter of 2023 to serve a long-term contract in those same waters for Chevron.

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