OTC 10891

Use of the Dual-Activity Drillship as a Field Development Tool

Johnce E. Hall, BP Amoco; Robert P. Herrmann, Consultant; Charles A. Holt and William J. Straub, BP Amoco; Rickey G.
Weber, R & D Technical

Copyright 1999, Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 1999 Offshore Technology Conference held
in Houston, Texas, 36 May 1999.
This paper was selected for presentation by the OTC Program Committee following review of
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
presented, have not been reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject
to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Offshore Technology Conference or its officers. Electronic reproduction,
distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written
consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print
is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The
abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was
presented.

Abstract
The startup of the dual-activity drilling vessel Discoverer
Enterprise in early 1999 heralds a new age for deepwater
development. For the first time a drilling vessel exists that
can perform many of the aspects of deepwater field
development cost effectively, including a variety of subsea
production equipment installations and flowline/pipeline
laying. This capability minimizes the barges and equipment
required for field development and yields schedule flexibility
for the installation tasks.
Aspects of the dual-activity drillship related to non-drilling
activities are described in the paper. The second rig on the
drillship is only required part of the time to support drilling
operations. The remainder of the time can be used for other
field development activities.
The subsea tree is run with the auxiliary rig while drilling
with the BOP and riser with the primary rig. In addition,
subsea manifolds, umbilical pods, flowline jumpers and
supporting piles can be placed and secured with the auxiliary
rig while drilling progresses with the primary rig. Concepts
for subsea equipment that can be installed with the dualactivity drill rig are presented.
Some flowline installation work can also be performed while
drilling is in progress. The flowline installation technique,
designated discrete lay and/or reverse lay, results in
sectional flowline placements using an anchor handling vessel
and an ROV boat (for inspection and monitoring). This

technique can also be used for the placement of long

jumpers.
Flowlines, as well as export pipelines in deeper waters, can
also be installed by the dual-activity drillship in pipelay mode
before or after drilling is completed. Using both rigs, two
lines can simultaneously be laid which is an advantage for
flowline sets requiring pigging loops or parallel oil and gas
export lines. Burial of the lines is also achievable with the
dual-activity drillship.
A conceptual timeline of how drilling and non-drilling
operations can be achieved by the dual-activity drillship is
provided.
Introduction
The concept of a dual-activity drillship has been in existence
since the mid-1990s. A year-long study performed by
Transocean Offshore Inc. concluded that deepwater drilling
efficiencies could be enhanced by design and construction of a
single drillship with dual drilling capabilities. Construction of
the first dual-activity drillship, the Discoverer Enterprise,
began in 1997 and is scheduled for delivery in the spring of
1999. Two additional drillships, the Discoverer Spirit and the
Discoverer Deep Sea, are currently under construction and are
expected to be delivered in the year 2000.
One advantage identified in association with the dualactivity drillship is that it has the potential to enhance offshore
operations in unconventional modes. Because the auxiliary rig
is out of the critical path, it can be used for operations which
would not be economic if the rig spread cost were applied to
the operation. For example, the second rig is capable of being
employed to drill a disposal well for flared gas or for
produced water, or the second rig can be used to pull in
pipelines, run production jumpers, run control lines or other
subsea construction work. The extra rig is available for heavy
subsea lifts and work as a 5,000 hp ROV. In addition the
second rig can help eliminate shallow water flow problems or
reduce external hydrates. After the BOP stack is set there is

J.E. HALL, R.P. HERRMANN, C.A. HOLT, W.J. STRAUB, R.G. WEBER

available time at the auxiliary rotary table for making up

pipeline segments for installation on the seabed.
The biggest advantage in using the rig for field development
is to eliminate the need for an additional construction vessel
such as a derrick barge or pipelay barge. The capabilities of
the Discoverer Enterprise as a dedicated deepwater pipelay
vessel actually exceeds that of many specialized lay barges.
By using the rig for this function, more schedule flexibility is
realized. It is not necessary to coordinate the arrival of a
separate construction vessel with the other field activities such
as drilling or host installation. No additional mobilization of
offshore vessels is required. The rig can even be used to drill
anchor piles and install the mooring lines. The rig can lay
pipelines in a piecemeal manner when needed rather than in
one operation. The rig can be used at anytime within the
development schedule for lay purposes or other tasks. This
permits a more rational infrastructure development for the
field rather than that found when the lines have to be laid all at
once in a single operation.
Finally, there is the capability to increase the overall
efficiency of the operation by changing the basic culture on the
rig floor. Because of the second drilling center more focus and
attention will be given to planning the subsequent phases of
the operation. One complete rig exists to support the other,
and just keeping that operation running will improve
organization and help eliminate the unidentified unproductive
time that is found in analysis of the well construction process.
This potential savings due to better planning is real and can be
seen in investigation of the improvements in efficiency in
batch-drill operations. A significant amount of the batch-drill
improvements cannot be tied to the operations eliminated by
this process alone. Much of these improvements are from
abolishing the need to plan between stages of the operation.
The second rig causes better planning and coordination
between stages because its primary function is to carry out the
work for the next phase.
The Discoverer Enterprise
The Discoverer Enterprise is an extremely large drillship
incorporating a multi-activity derrick and drillfloor. The hull is
modeled on a standard 100,000 ton North Sea dynamically
positioned (DP) shuttle tanker outfitted with six 7,000 hp
azimuthing thrusters. Total stationkeeping thrust totals 42,000
hp, and the variable deck load is 20,000 tons.
The large stable platform provided by this hull allows use of a
dual capacity derrick with an 80 ft x 80 ft drill floor and a 220 ft
height. The derrick is fully outfitted with two drilling packages
including topdrives and motion compensators. Figure 1 shows
the basic floor arrangement. The allowable simultaneous hook
loads are 2,000 kips each and the two rigs are outfitted to rack
casing in triples and drillpipe in quadruples (125 ft stands). The
dual derrick permits parallel and shared operations and places
many rotary table activities out of the critical path. The
continuous setback can feed either rotary table and allows
casing, bottom hole assemblies, and running tools to be made up

OTC 10891

and stood back with one rig while drilling hole with the other.
The dual activity also permits the auxiliary rig to drill and case
the top hole while running the BOP/Riser with the main rig. The
derrick is designed to transit with two full drillpipe setbacks.
The drillship is outfitted with two mud systems, quarters for
up to 200 men, and storage for 20,000 ft of riser. There is space
for staging and running subsea trees, and for the normal
shorebase storage and office facilities. The vessel's sleek lines
and high power enable economical moves between operating
areas, and the ship can carry variables for up to five wells.
There is 100,000 bbl crude storage potential for well testing or
completion.
The motion response characteristics of the drillship are
extremely good and are in fact better than those for a semisubmersible for waves in the 9-14 second head seas.
The design is especially suitable for field development work.
The stationkeeping particulars, the high hoisting capacity and the
ability to work subsea in parallel with the drilling operation
lends the opportunity to economically carry out work that would
normally be done with a dedicated construction vessel.
Dual-Activity Drilling Operations
For single exploratory wells there are three main areas where
dual activity can be carried out: running the BOP stack and
top-hole operations; make up and testing of bottom hole
assemblies and downhole tools; and make up and running of
casing. Up to the time the BOP stack is landed both rigs are
100% engaged, thus halving the time required to drill that
section. One rig runs the BOP and riser while the other drills
the top hole and runs casing down to 20 in. One rig does all
tophole operations, pilot hole, drilling, tripping, running pipe
etc. while the other is running the BOP and riser. Once the
wellhead running tool is released the rig moves 20 ft and the
stack is landed.
At the end of the well the auxiliary rig can be used to
remove the wellhead or to run abandonment gear while
simultaneously pulling the BOP stack.
After the stack is landed the auxiliary rig is devoted to
preparing bottom hole assemblies and down hole tools for the
main rig. In addition to the time saved simply from moving
these activities out of the critical path there is the benefit of
reduction of downtime from testing faulty tools. This can be
done with the auxiliary rig and allows time to troubleshoot
problems that would have normally been charged against the
spread costs. This is especially important in deepwater or in
applications requiring special tools. It is possible to build
stands outside the main rotary table with a special mouse hole
but it is difficult to test running tools in this area while the drill
string is rotating or while tripping pipe.
In addition to servicing downhole tools the auxiliary rig
makes up the casing string in 125 ft stands and racks back for
running. Time is saved in making up the shoe joints and float
collars, and half of the casing joints are made-up out of the
critical path. Tubing strings, gravel pack and other special
strings are made up by the auxiliary rig as well as drill pipe for

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USE OF THE DUAL-ACTIVITY DRILLSHIP AS A FIELD DEVELOPMENT TOOL

the main rig or for inspection.

When used for field development the dual-activity rig
becomes even more efficient. After landing the BOP stack the
ship can be moved so that adjacent wells can be drilled by the
auxiliary rig. The offset required to reach a new well is well
within the riser angle limit. Up to nine additional top holes
can be drilled and cased through the auxiliary rotary table
while the main rig is drilling out under the 17-1/2 in. top hole
in the first well. The BOP can then be moved to the next well
without pulling to the surface, and the pressure section of the
wells can be drilled batch style.
While drilling through the BOP the second rig can be used
to rig up and run the production trees. The well is secured,
the BOP released and the rig positioned to land the tree. The
stack can be moved to another well or set atop a horizontal
tree for completion. In any case the tree is safely run without
having to trip the BOP. In the event the tree does not test, it is
not necessary to double trip the stack to retrieve the tree.
Construction Vessel Capabilities
As a construction vessel the Discoverer Enterprise compares
favorably to typical dedicated deepwater construction barges.
The capacities of the derrick (used as a J-lay tower for
pipeline installation), stationkeeping, and sea bed survey
equipment on the Discoverer Enterprise surpass those found
on the current fleet of deepwater construction vessels.
Moreover, the dual derrick allows two pipelines to be laid
simultaneously without a significant increase in spread costs.
Table 1 sets out a comparison between the Discoverer
Enterprise and a typical deepwater J-lay barge. Figure 2
illustrates the difference in size between the same two vessels.
Tower.
Hook Load. Large lifting capacities are required to J-lay
pipe in deepwater. Flow assurance often demands heavy pipein-pipe insulation systems, and project economics may not
allow export line wall thicknesses that can withstand the
collapse pressure acting on an evacuated line. Wet pipe
weights can be as high as 180 lb/ft and, coupled with the
tension requirements and dynamic loading, can result in tower
loads up to 1,500 kips. According to Albaugh (Ref. 1) typical
capacities of existing J-lay barges run between 150 kips and
792 kips. This compares to the twin hookload capacity of
2,000 kips for the Discoverer Enterprise. There are two
hoisting drawworks in the dual derrick. Each is fully outfitted
and rated for 2 million lb hookload. The normal rig landing
string is 6-5/8 in. 27.7 lb S drill pipe rated at 1 million lb. For
larger loads the riser can be used. The 2 million lb hookload is
simultaneous and can be achieved by both drawworks at the
same time. This is useful for emergency recovery or for
operation in 10,000 ft of water.
Motion Compensation. The drilling rig has two 1,000 kip
motion compensators and can in fact provide a constant
tension at levels higher than that of the ultimate lifting
capacity of typical lay barge towers. The two compensators

can be put to good use for delicate hingeover operations or for

emergency laydown or recovery operations.
Dynamic Derrick. The Dual Derrick on the Discoverer
Enterprise is rated at 2 million lb each hook (simultaneous)
while suffering 40 kt winds and 18 ft significant sea acting 30
off the bow.
A hook load of 1,800 kips on one rig
simultaneous to 1,400 kips on the other rig can be maintained
while in 60 kt winds and a 25 ft significant sea acting 30 off
the bow. The dynamic capacity of the derrick allows
emergency operations in rough weather. Typical lay barge
towers have reduced sea state and subsequent motion
resistance capacity and are thus required to cease operations
more often.
Dual Pipelay. Both rigs are rated to 2 million lb and can be
used to simultaneously lay two lines. The rotary tables are 40
ft apart and provide good separation between lines. As
illustrated in Figure 3 the rig can change heading 45 about
the neutral point and still achieve adequate separation between
pipelines. When 45 from square the pipelines are only 11 ft
closer together which is insignificant in deep water. The
ability to make a 45 heading change coupled with the very
good motion characteristics permit the dual lay operation even
in winter.
Stationkeeping Power. The Discoverer Enterprise is outfitted
with six 7,000 hp thrusters and designed to stay on location
during a 50 year Gulf of Mexico hurricane. The thrusters can
keep station with a 60 kt wind directly on the beam and while
only running at 80% capacity. The azimuthing thrusters can
develop 1,200 kips thrust. This compares to up to 800 kips of
thrust potential from the most powerful J-lay barges. The
drillship power generation is 52,000 hp continuous and
capable of 70,000 hp instantaneous.
This increased
stationkeeping allows the drillship to work year round and add
to the enhancement of schedule flexibility.
Pipehandling Machines. The Discoverer Enterprise is
equipped with two vertical pipehandling machines. Each unit
is capable of working either rotary table or any setback and
provides backup. The pipe handlers are designed to handle
138 ft stands of 3-1/2 in. - 20 in. pipe and can pick up a 125 ft
stand of 9-1/2 in. drill collars (27,000 lb). The machines are
designed to set and align threaded pipe for makeup and are
computer controlled. The pipehandlers can be commanded to
center the pipe in the rotary and align to vertical. The rig is
outfitted with all manner of power slips and casing elevators
to run the pipe.
Special Operations.
Subsea Power. There are four 2,200 hp high pressure mud
pumps on the Discoverer Enterprise which can deliver 8,000
hydraulic hp @ 7,500 psi to seabed machinery. This enables
the rig to power seabed winches, trenching machinery or other
equipment that heretofore were limited by the hydraulic power

J.E. HALL, R.P. HERRMANN, C.A. HOLT, W.J. STRAUB, R.G. WEBER

available from the ROV. One such application is the burial of

pipelines.
No equipment of such capacity is normally
provided on pipelay barges.
Lift and Pull. Utilizing both drawworks allows one to lift a
pipeline and the other to pull in the pipeline. This helps in
executing pipeline deflection and connection operations.
Torque. The rig can apply and hold torque to the pipeline
when landing the second end. This enables the rig to steer the
pipeline to a desired lay direction or to land the pipeline base
in the correct vertical hub orientation.
Ability to Drill or Pile Pipeline Bases. The drillship is well
suited to drill in piles for supporting pipeline bases or
manifolds. By offsetting the rig and allowing the riser to take
a small angle the second rig can drill piles while the primary
rig is drilling through the BOP. In 7,000 ft of water these piles
can be as far away as 250 ft from the BOP stack. By drilling
off-line, only the material cost of the pile adds cost to the
project.
ROV and Survey. The drillship is equipped with two full
ROV spreads including crews. Positioning reference systems
include twin DGPS, short baseline, long baseline, and
combined ultra-short/long baseline acoustic systems.
Timing with Drilling Operations
The Discoverer Enterprise is actually a triple-activity rig for
floor operations. There are two fully functional rotary tables
and drawworks rigged up in the dual derrick, plus there is a
mechanized mousehole (smart mousehole) that, while using
the aft pipe handler, can make up and break down bottom hole
assemblies and make up and rack casing and completion
strings. A more accurate description of the drillship is a dual
activity unit for below water operations and triple-activity unit
for drillfloor operations. As such the second rotary is
available whenever there is no need for dual in-water
operations. This is a substantial amount of time and includes
all time after landing the BOP stack up until the tree is moved
to the center of the auxiliary rotary table for rigging up, and
includes the time from when the tree running string is retrieved
up until abandonment. This is roughly 80% of the entire time
on location. The mousehole operation does however, require
use of one of the pipehandling machines and will interfere with
the auxiliary rig operations when the second pipehandler is
needed. To be conservative it is assumed that the mousehole
time interferes 100% with non-drilling construction activities.
This brings the available time for these operations to 65% of
the location time.
Figure 4 depicts a detailed schedule for a theoretical
deepwater well with no trouble time, a perfect well. The
drilling and completion time is 37 days. This is a challenging
schedule for planning concurrent field construction activities.
In reality the perfect well gives the most pessimistic template
for structuring the simultaneous operations. The auxiliary
rotary table operations are a fixed set of tasks and are not
subject to changes owing to drilling problems. Thus, if the
program is delayed, then the extra drilling time can be

OTC 10891

considered as more time available to the auxiliary rotary table

for construction activities. Figure 5 is the perfect well
schedule filtered for all tasks involving the auxiliary rotary
table and the mouse hole. The schedule has been further
enhanced by making two tasks to start as late as possible. This
enables the available auxiliary rotary table time to be arranged
in two continuous blocks and yet not affect the overall drilling
and completion time. The schedule also shows the slack time
where neither the auxiliary rotary table nor the mouse hole is
being used. The first large block occurs between the 17-1/2 in.
section and running 9-5/8 in. pipe. There are 7.15 days shown
where no auxiliary rotary table or mouse hole activity is
scheduled. The second period is after landing the subsea tree
and comprises almost 14 days. Thus, without reference to the
well operation, there are 21 days available out of the 37 in two
large blocks. There are smaller segments of available
auxiliary rotary table time earlier on which make up the two
days needed for the 65% claim.
There are two types of field development work identified as
candidates for installation with the drillship while drilling.
Installing sea bed equipment such as trees, manifold bases,
jumpers, and support piles comprise one group. These tasks
are normal drill rig activities and are done at the auxiliary
rotary table without interference to the normal drilling
operations at the main rotary table. The second group includes
pipeline construction and involves welding on the rig floor.
This type of work should be undertaken during the first of the
time blocks, while drilling the well, rather than during the well
completion phase when the well is live.
Drillfloor Welding. The drillfloor is classified as a Zone II
hazardous area. As such welding is allowed if contained in an
area positively ventilated with air from outside the hazardous
zone. This is the setup which allows use of direct current (DC)
drilling motors and the other rig floor electric equipment on
the drillfloor. Additionally it is desired to keep hot welding
material from falling into the moonpool and to isolate the
welding flash from the adjacent drilling crew. The rotary
tables are 40 ft apart. Had this separation distance been 50 ft
then welding could be undertaken without the need for the
positive ventilation. To positively ventilate and to keep the
flash off the drill crew a small house will enclose the pipe
while welding. This house is equipped with supply fans that
are ducted to take air from a safe area. The roof and fore and
aft walls of the house open up to allow the pipe to be picked
up and set in position as seen in Figure 6. While aligning the
pipe the house is closed and the ventilation is started. The
house can be as large as 10 ft x 15 ft, and will have a floor to
keep sparks and molten metal from falling into the moonpool.
Subsea Equipment Installation with Dual-Activity
Drillship
The subsea installation most evident for the offline rotary table
is installation of the subsea tree. While the BOP is down and
drilling operations are being conducted with the main rig, the

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USE OF THE DUAL-ACTIVITY DRILLSHIP AS A FIELD DEVELOPMENT TOOL

tree is brought to the secondary rotary table and rigged up for

running. Horizontal trees are run to the sea bed on drillpipe
and landed without having to pull the BOP to the rig floor.
Vertical trees can likewise be run by the auxiliary rig with a
separate riser system. The second rig also provides the
opportunity to carry out activities not normally considered
possible due to the cost of the operation spread. The rig can
be used to run pipeline bases and to pull in the pipeline.
Heavy gear can be moved subsea, and the mud pumps can
provide hydraulics for seabed work such as trenching or
pipeline pull-in. The offline rig can run tree jumpers, pipeline
jumpers and manifolds all while the main rig is drilling
through the BOP.
Subsea Tree. Normally the subsea tree is run after securing
the well and pulling the BOP stack. The stack or high pressure
riser is then rerun and landed on the tree. Deepwater tripping
of the BOP and riser is time-consuming and comprises a
significant percent of the well completion costs. Often most of
the tree preparation work commences only after rigging down
from pulling the BOP and the moonpool area under the rotary
table becomes free. To pull the stack, rig up and run the tree,
and then rerun and test the BOP takes a minimum of 10 days
in deepwater. This does not account for the risk of failure of
the BOP or high pressure lines to test once the riser system is
re-deployed.
The dual-activity rig runs the tree on drillpipe while the
BOP stack is on the wellhead. Care and planning are
necessary to execute this maneuver without problems caused
by interference with the drilling riser. First, it is required that
the tree, tree running tool or other bottom string equipment be
provided with fenders or rails to keep that part of the tree
susceptible to hang up off of the marine riser. The fenders
themselves need to be smooth and snag free. Second, the
drillship has to be oriented so that the second string is pushed
away from the marine riser. This is accomplished by first
acquiring a current profile and then calculating the trajectory
of the second string as it runs to the bottom. If the
displacement for all positions and all times is less than 40 ft,
the rotary table separation, then the heading for best vessel
motion can be maintained. If the displacement is more than
the rotary table separation and would lead to interference with
the marine riser, then it is necessary to orient the relative
position between the running string and the riser by changing
heading so that the displacement, whatever it is, runs away
from the riser. In the rare event where the displacement is
more than 40 ft and cuts through an arc greater than 180
(when viewed from above), then it is necessary to also offset
the vessel, increase the riser angle at the BOP, and increase the
separation between the two strings. It is also possible that a
series of heading changes are necessary as the trajectory shifts
due to increasing hanging weight and alterations in current.
Finally the position of the bottom of the string is continuously
monitored while lowering. A bottom string transponder gives
the absolute position of the tree and is used to check against

that calculated from the trajectory analysis. An ROV follows

the tree to give both a visual and acoustic picture of the
situation.
Other Subsea Equipment. Besides the tree there is other
subsea equipment that can be deployed with the offline rotary
table and help reduce the field development costs. Figure 7
illustrates a typical deepwater subsea setup.
Pipeline Manifold Base. Often a base is deployed as an
anchor for pipeline termination or as a tie-in point for the tree
jumper and the main production flowline or simply to function
as a subsea manifold. As such this base requires a foundation
that can support the weight of the base and piping and take
side loading from pipeline pull-ins or from pipelay initiation.
The offline rotary table can be employed to install both the
foundation pile and the manifold base while conducting
normal operations with the main rig. This is best done during
the early part of drilling a well, when there is some short slack
in the auxiliary rotary table use and when still rigged up for
drilling in top hole casing.
Deploying the pile can be
temporarily interrupted at any time except after its drilling has
commenced. There is a means to hang the pipe string on the
spider beams under the auxiliary rig and skid it out of the way.
When the auxiliary rotary table again becomes available the
string can be skidded back into position, and the operation can
be restarted. Drilling piles is a function for which the rig is
specifically specialized, and it is especially economical when
this can be done offline to the main operation. The costs for
this are reduced to that of the hardware with the rig spread
costs going against the well.
The moonpool of the Discoverer Enterprise is 60 ft x 30 ft
and there is a clear height of 50 ft under the substructure. This
allows manifolds of up to 25 ft x 35 ft to be easily run from the
aft station. Again planning is required to minimize the risk of
interference with the deployed riser.
Tree Jumper. Once the manifold base is set and the tree is
landed, it is possible to run the flowline jumper from the tree
to the base with the auxiliary rig. Measurements are made by
the shipboard ROV and the jumper fabricated onboard.
Jumpers less than 60 ft in length can be assembled on the pipe
rack and run directly through the moonpool. Jumpers over 60
ft but less than 125 ft in length can be assembled in one piece
and passed over the ship side for keelhauling to the running
string of the auxiliary rotary table. Jumpers longer than 125 ft
must be assembled vertically in the moonpool under the
auxiliary rotary table and then rotated 90 when clear of the
hull. The jumper can be tested once it is installed.
Pipeline Jumpers. In addition to the tree jumpers the
pipeline jumpers shown in Figure 7 can be run if the pipeline
landing skids are in place or if there is another pipeline
manifold base nearby. Even after the rig has moved off
location the pipeline jumpers can continue to be fabricated on
the drillship and passed to a separate installation vessel. This
saves on handling costs and, once set up, provides a very
economical means for jumper fabrication. Most importantly,

J.E. HALL, R.P. HERRMANN, C.A. HOLT, W.J. STRAUB, R.G. WEBER

this gives the flexibility to cope with the inevitable changes

that come up in any short field construction period.
Flowline/Pipeline Installation with Dual-Activity Rig
Three methods of pipelaying are considered viable for field
development using the drillship: discrete lay, reverse lay and
dedicated lay.
Discrete Lay. This method utilizes the second rotary table on
the drillship to construct flowline segments while the primary
rotary table is performing the drilling and completions
operations. Figure 8 illustrates the concept. Pipeline segments
less than the water depth are made up in the auxiliary rotary
table. First-end and second-end skids are made up at the
extremities of the segment. The completed flowline segments
are transferred to an anchor handling vessel (AHV) which
transports and installs the segments. Subsea jumpers connect
the segments to form the completed flowline.
Disadvantages of this method are the additional cost of the
jumpers and the limitation of the segment length to the water
depth. Obviously this is not a useful method in shallow water.
The hanging loads are quite large and, for lengths greater than
6,000 ft, the weights approach the limit for standard AHVs.
The advantages are great. Most of the spread costs is
charged to the drilling operation and this results in an
economic means to install a flowline, and the flowline is
installed when needed rather than at the convenience of the lay
barge. In the case where the wells are separated by distances
less than the water depth then this method becomes very
economical when the wells are daisy-chained together by
flowlines. The lines can be laid while drilling and no extra
jumper cost is suffered.
Reverse Lay. This is another method where pipe is laid from
the auxiliary rotary table while drilling. The reverse lay
method uses the AHV to pull pipe away from the rig while
being assembled. Pipe lengths up to three times the water
depth can be assembled, thereby eliminating one or two
pipeline jumpers. To lay the tree end it is necessary to offset
the rig in the direction of the lay and take a larger horizontal
pull.
It is possible to run an even longer segment by combining
the reverse lay with bottom tow. In this case the AHV pulls
the pipeline along the seabed while being made up by the
second rotary table. Figures 9 and 10 illustrate the reverse lay
concept.
Dedicated Lay. The dedicated lay technique uses the dualactivity drillship to install a flowline or pipeline in a
continuous manner, as does a pipeline lay barge. Both the
primary and secondary rotary tables can be used
simultaneously to construct and install dual lines. The
dedicated lay method assumes the rig is used strictly for
pipelaying operations, with no drilling or completions
operations being performed. Dedicated lay can be applied

OTC 10891

simultaneously for two lines, or with one rotary table in

dedicated lay mode and the other rotary table in a discrete lay
mode. The most efficient use of the drillship is in a dedicated
dual lay mode. The rotary table separation of 40 ft gives
sufficient clearance to run two lines simultaneously. The
hoisting capacity for both rigs are identical (2 million lb), and
the structure is designed to take maximum loads
simultaneously. The vessel would normally lay the pipeline
transverse to the hull centerline (sideways). In the event of
bad weather the rig can change heading 45 without danger
of the two pipes interfering. Possibly up to 60 can be
realized without problems. The Discoverer Enterprise is much
larger than a typical deepwater J-lay barge and has superior
stationkeeping capability. As such the downtime for weather
should be significantly less.
During times when simultaneous lay is not possible, say with
separated risers or single flowlines, it is possible to engage the
second rotary table in the discrete mode or in helping the
single lay rotary table by making up 160 ft-180 ft stands.
Risers can be run discretely or in the normal forward lay. The
two 1 million lb motion compensators can be of benefit in
emergency recovery operations. Use of the drilling riser as a
running string allows a 2 million lb lift load.
Dual lay of risers to a floating production facility is unlikely
owing to separation requirements of riser strings near the
seabed. Nonetheless the second rotary table can be put to
good use while laying a single riser with the other rotary table.
For example, both rigs may be used for dual lay up to the time
that the single riser lay operation begins. From that point
onward the second rotary table pays out the second riser with a
dummy line (drill pipe). Upon connecting the first riser the
second is hauled in and its lay recommenced.
During the period when the first rotary table is free, it can be
usefully employed making up pipe segments for the discrete
lay. Pipe segments are passed to an adequately equipped AHV
which in turn steams to the line under construction and lays
that section. Alternatively the idle rotary table can be used to
make up 180 ft stands (from two 90 ft sections) and pass the
longer stand vertically to the second rotary table using one of
the rig floor pipehandlers. Savings would result from faster
running (180 ft joints vs. a standard quad joint length of 165
ft) and from lower onshore fabrication costs (90 ft joints vs.
165 ft joints).
Burial. The high pressure mud pumps used to power seabed
equipment can also be utilized to bury flowlines, thus
improving their ability to maintain transported fluid heat where
flow assurance is a concern. A drill string can be run to the
bottom by each rotary table and the pump hydraulics can be
used to jet the pipe. The jets at the bottom of the string are
oriented to keep the drill pipe pressed against the flowline.
The drillship can travel along the flowline at up to 4-5 kts
during this operation. An ROV maintains position just ahead
of the forward string and above the unburied pipeline for
inspection purposes. The drillship keeps station off the ROV

OTC 10891

USE OF THE DUAL-ACTIVITY DRILLSHIP AS A FIELD DEVELOPMENT TOOL

position.
Conclusion
Dual-activity drillships are unique in that they are capable of
performing multiple functions in association with field
development. In the past, some of these functions have
required mobilization and demobilization of one or more
additional large construction vessels for completion.
Implementation of the same vessel that performs well drilling
and completion operations for other activities such as subsea
equipment installation, central production facilities
installation, and flowline/pipeline construction results in
overall project cost savings. Further, potential downtime and
resultant cost occurring when one vessel waits for the other to
complete their activities is negated. Finally, unexpected delays
occurring from one field development operation do not result
in downtime and associated cost since the dual-activity
drillship can perform tasks as assigned.
The drillship Discoverer Enterprise has been featured in this
paper because of its first of a kind status. Future launchings
of additional dual-activity drillships will allow the practice of
single vessel usage for multiple field development tasks to
become more prevalent. This capability is especially timely in
light of reduced oil prices from recent years, making vessel
utilization and cost reduction prime factors in the ability to
develop new fields economically.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Transocean Offshore
Inc. for their consideration and assistance in developing dualactivity drilling rig information, Mr. Andrew Macfarlane of
H.O. Mohr & Associates, Inc. for his assistance in developing
graphics associated with dual-activity drillship utilization
concepts and Ms. Peggy Reyna of Aker Engineering, Inc. for
cleanup and handling of this manuscript.
References
1. Albaugh, E. Kurt: Offshore Pipeline Installation and Burial
Contractors and Vessels, Offshore (June 1998).

J.E. HALL, R.P. HERRMANN, C.A. HOLT, W.J. STRAUB, R.G. WEBER

Table 1
Comparison of Enterprise Capabilities with Typical Pipe J-Lay Barge
Characteristic
Design Load for J-Lay (kips)
Capacity for Heave Compensation
Design Load for Pipe Abandonment/Recovery (kips)
Ability to Allow Pipe-in-Pipe Installation
Vessel Total Thruster Capacity (kips)
Number of Vertical Pipe Handlers
Capacity of Quarters (# of persons)
Maximum Number of Pipes that Can Be Laid at a Time

J-Lay Barge
775-2,000 (1)
No
775-1,210 (1)
Yes
Less than 800 (1)
1
200+
1

NOTES:
1. Maximum capacity currently anticipated after upgrade or construction.
2. Heave-compensated design load is 1,000 kips.
3. Vessel has continuous 52,000 horsepower capacity.

Fi g u r e No 1
En t e r p r i s e Du a l Ac t i vi t y Fl o o r La yo u t

Enterprise
2,000 x 2
Yes (2)
2,000
Yes
1,200 (3)
2
200
2

OTC 10891

OTC 10891

USE OF THE DUAL-ACTIVITY DRILLSHIP AS A FIELD DEVELOPMENT TOOL

Fi g u r e No 2
Ve s s e l Si ze Co m p a r i s o n
En t e r p r i s e vs Typ i c a l La y B a r g e

4 5 Ve s s e l H e a d i n g

Sq u a r e He a d i n g

Fi g u r e N o 3
Du a l Ac t i vi t y Ri g Pi p e l a y Ad va n t a g e s
La y Tw o Li n e s Si m u l t a n e o u s l y

OTC 10891
Use of Dual-Activitv Drillship as a Field Development Tool
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OTC 10891
THEORETICAL

WELL I SINGLE WELL COMPETION

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OTC 10891

USE OF THE DUAL-ACTIVITY DRILLSHIP AS A FIELD DEVELOPMENT TOOL

Fi g u r e N o 6
We ld in g Op e ra t ion s
O f f s h o r e Fa c i l i t y

Tr e e

1 s t En d Ba s e

Tr e e
J um per

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Fi g u r e No 7
Typ i c a l De e p w a t e r La yo u t

13

14

J.E. HALL, R.P. HERRMANN, C.A. HOLT, W.J. STRAUB, R.G. WEBER

Fi g u r e No 8
Du a l Ac t i vi t y Ri g La y M e t h od s
Di s c r e t e La y

Fi g u r e No 9
Du a l Ac t i vi t y Ri g La y M e t h od s
Re ve r s e J -La y

OTC 10891

OTC 10891

USE OF THE DUAL-ACTIVITY DRILLSHIP AS A FIELD DEVELOPMENT TOOL

Fi g u r e No 10
Du a l Ac t i vi t y Ri g La y M e t h o d s
La y-Aw a y & B o t t o m To w

15