Thales Deepwater Drilling System
Thales GeoSolutions is to introduce a deepwater drilling system, DeepDrill. Considerable research and development effort has lead to capability for in-situ testing and high quality soil sampling at water depths of up to 2,500m.
The vessel will be able to offer in situ testing capabilities in depths of up to 4,000m using Mini-Cone Penetrometer Testing (MCPT) systems mounted on permanently mobilised, Thales G3 Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).
DeepDrill will be capable of rotary drilling, sampling and in situ testing at water depths of up to 2,000m using an API 5½ inch steel pipe, with the option to extend this capacity using aluminium pipe if required. The active/passive heave compensation system has been designed to minimise sample disturbance, even in adverse weather conditions.
