ICON and Neodrill complete world's deepest CAN-ductor deployment and recovery

• 1st Australasian CAN-ductor installed and recovered as planned

• 1st CAN-ductor installed and recovered by AHTS

The world's deepest installation of a CAN-ductor (Conductor Anchor Node suction pile with integrated conductor) well foundation has been completed after being successfully recovered from Woodside Energy's Ferrand-1 deepwater exploration well in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia.

The CAN-ductor was designed, supplied, installed and recovered by a venture comprising Norwegian developers Neodrill AS and Australian offshore installation contractor ICON Engineering Pty Ltd using a Siem Offshore Anchor Handling Tug in a water depth of 1492m.

The CAN-ductor replaced the traditional well conductor casing, and provided significant additional structural capacity for the high pressure, high temperature well drilled in relatively weak soil.  Its use reduced the number of rig days compared to the traditional method of installing the surface conductor and wellhead, and eliminated the HSE risk of lifting and landing numerous joints of heavy conductor.  The recovery of the CAN after the completion of the well allows for its re-use in other wells.

The 16m high, 6m diameter CAN-ductor was pre-installed in February 2018 in preparation for the semi-submersible drilling rig's later arrival in April for the drilling operations.

Woodside Energy used the CAN-ductor (Conductor Anchor Node suction pile with integrated conductor)
as part of its Punch & Go exploration drilling strategy

After the drilling was completed the CAN-ductor was then successfully retrieved and is now available for re-use on either an exploration or development well. 

For production well applications the CAN-ductor provides a high capacity, structural foundation that can be used to support components of the subsea production system (SPS).  These SPS components, which would otherwise be placed alongside wells on separate foundations, can be pre-installed onto the CAN saving installation time and allowing the acceleration of first production in many cases.

Installing the Conductor Anchor Node (CAN) using a vessel gives significant cost and environmental benefits for operators such as Woodside Energy.

In a different application the CAN-ductor allows highly deviated wells to be drilled to develop shallow reservoirs.

Click below for Woodside Energy’s video on its Punch and Go exploration strategy, using the Conductor Anchor Node (CAN):

Click below to view ICON's video of the fabrication, installation and recovery of the Ferrand-1 well.

ICON's project sheet containing a description and technical details of this project are available here:

Further Information for Editors

• ICON has installed more offshore platforms with jackup drilling rigs than any other company worldwide and is expert in minimal facilities installation techniques such as Minnowpods, Monopods and Annex wellhead platforms.
• ICON’s work won a British Government engineering award for the innovative North Sea design and installation method of Shell’s Skiff oilfield and installed the first fixed wellhead platform in the Timor Sea.
• ICON has carried out the deepest and lowest cost deployment of flexible flowlines carried out from a semi-submersible drilling rig in Australia and has pioneered mini-floatover technology for installing small topsides in weight range up to 1200 tonnes.
• ICON are world leaders in the supply of conductor tensioning systems for jackup drilling rigs from the Gippsland Basin to the Gulf of Mexico and is renowned for completing difficult upgrades to drilling rigs outside shipyards in remote offshore locations.
• ICON’s growing equipment division sells and rents equipment internationally and focuses on developing niche equipment to support construction and drilling operations.
• ICON designs and manufactures heave compensated systems for drilling locked to bottom well test operations.

For further information, please contact:

ICON Engineering Pty Ltd

David Field, Managing Director

T: +61 8 6313 5500

A: Level 1, 50 Kings Park Road, West Perth WA 6005, Australia

E: [email protected] W: iconeng.com.au