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• PIPELINE NEWS NORTH
APRIL 19, 2013
special feature responsible canadian energy Cenovus soars to new heights with SkyStrat drilling rig
Successful oil sands developments such as Cenovus’ Foster Creek operation can only happen after the company obtains geological information about the region. The work of drilling stratigraphic wells to gather that data is often done in remote areas with rough terrain that is inaccessible during the summer because of soft muskeg. Cenovus has found a way around that problem, adapting technology from the hard rock mining industry to build a drilling rig that they can helicopter into those tough spots throughout the year.
Cenovus PHOTO
james waterman Pipeline News North When Cenovus went looking for a solution to a common problem plaguing the oil patch of northern Alberta, they found inspiration in the work of their natural resource sector cousins in the hard rock mining industry. The problem was how to prolong the season for drilling stratigraphic wells in a region where the ground is only hard enough to support the constant transportation of drilling rigs for a few months of the year. The solution was a helicopter. “The SkyStrat drilling rig is a pretty exciting project for Cenovus,” said Cenovus spokesperson Jessica Wilkinson. “Cenovus and everyone else in the industry drill stratigraphic – or strat – wells to gather more information about the resource underground,” she explained. “It’s understanding the geology, getting
core samples, really mapping out where the resource is. “We use that data to plan our … oil sands development.” The challenge of that job is the amount of muskeg across the northern Alberta landscape. “It’s pretty sloppy,” said Wilkinson. “A lot of the drilling has to take place in the winter.” That drilling activity amounts to about 400 to 500 strat wells per year. “And the challenge is that we have to get those done within, really, a three month drilling season in a good winter,” said Wilkinson. “Trying to get that volume of wells finished in that short amount of time, there are some logistical challenges,” she continued. “And the reason that we have to get it done before then is, once it thaws, the ground is too wet to support any equipment. So, there’s a really hard deadline. “Mother Nature’s deadline on how long
we can drill.” Cenovus began searching for a way to drill strat wells throughout the year without adversely affecting an environment that is so easy to impact during the warmer months. The solution they discovered was a drilling rig that can be transported by helicopter to the rough terrain of remote locations where the hard rock mining industry does its work. “On the side of a mountain,” said Wilkinson, offering an example of those difficult conditions. “Working with some expert fabricators, mining companies and the regulators, we came up with a prototype that would allow us to transform a conventional oil and gas stratigraphic drilling rig,” she continued. The result is a heli-portable drilling rig about two-thirds the size of a conventional drilling rig. “And because of the way we had to put things together to make everything fit and
heli-portable, operations are a bit different,” said Wilkinson. “That said, most drillers and rig crews work really hard in the winter and then they kind of get the summer off. And that creates a lot of uncertainty. And so by being able to drill year round, we’re able to give them long-term job opportunities. As a result, because they stay on the rig longer, they’re able to come back to the same rig, we think it’s ultimately going to result in a safer operation. The more comfortable they are with the equipment, the better operations are going to go.” The environmental benefits of the SkyStrat drilling rig we recognized by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) when Cenovus received their Environmental Performance Award for the project on March 20. The award is part of a Responsible continued pg 23
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