In 2024, we expect a new world record water depth to be set for an oil and gas well when Occidental drills the Komodo-1 NFW in the Caribbean Sea offshore Colombia, potentially breaking the 4,000m mark. The current record is held by the Ondjaba 1 well, which was drilled by TotalEnergies using the Maersk Drilling “Maersk Voyager” drillship offshore Angola, reaching 3,628m in 2021.
The advancement of offshore drilling technology has enabled E&P companies to consistently push into ever deeper frontier acreage since the first deepwater wells were drilled in more than 200m of water in the 1970s. By the 1980s, exploration had started to push into ultra-deep waters below 1,500m.
Jack-up rigs, first built in the 1950s, resembled the earlier drilling barges still used today. They floated into location in shallow water deltas, swamps and lakes. However, being fixed to the seabed on extendable legs, they provided a stable platform able to operate in rougher waters offshore. Jack-ups quickly opened up oil and gas plays on the world’s continental shelves in water depths up to around 200m and have remained the dominant rig types in the global fleet ever since.
Semi-submersible rigs first appeared in the 1960s and began to push beyond the jack-ups’ limitations, restricted as they were by the length of their legs. Floating into position, the semi would be partially submerged for stability and then anchored to the seabed. This allowed drilling into deeper waters, but the need to anchor the rig for stability continued to limit water depth.
By the 1970s, dynamic positioning systems using satellite data and thrusters meant semi-submersibles and new drillships no longer needed fixed moorings and could operate in the deep waters beyond the continental shelf. Over time, other technological advancements, including enhanced drilling systems, well control and real-time data monitoring, have pushed water depth limits beyond 3,000m. The proportion of wells drilled in deep and ultra-deep water by dynamically positioned rigs has been steadily increasing.
While the technology exists to support it, the trend toward ever deeper drilling shows no sign of stopping. With increasing global energy demand and a need for national energy security in a world of uncertain geopolitics, many countries are looking toward their deep waters for a solution. Supermajor E&P companies are increasing exploration budgets for spending on deepwater projects led by hotspots around the Atlantic Margin driven by recent success in countries such as Brazil, Guyana, Namibia and Cote d’Ivoire.
The Enverus Global Offshore Rig Tracker provides the most accurate weekly insight into the activity of the 800+ mobile rigs making up the worldwide drilling fleet. Up to date rig locations are supplemented with details on drilling contractor, current E&P operator and future contracts plus current activity linked to the Enverus well, block and field attributes.
