National Oilwell Varco to outfit Equinor offshore drilling rig fleet with wired drillpipe

National Oilwell Varco (NOV) has announced the signing of a frame agreement with Equinor for the provision of IntelliServ Wired Drillpipe to outfit their global fleet of offshore drilling rigs. This agreement is based on the success of recent field deployments of version two of Wired Drillpipe that have demonstrated the value of high-speed telemetry in multiple applications across their fleet of working rigs. The initial agreement is for three and a half years with five, two-year extensions.

“We are delighted to see accelerated adoption of NOV’s proprietary Wired Drillpipe in the global drilling market,” Clay Williams, Chairman, President and CEO of NOV, said. “As the industry places further emphasis on drilling automation and optimization, high-speed telemetry, which allows data to be transferred instantaneously from downhole to surface operations, is becoming an increasingly critical enabling technology. Partnering with a major national oil company interested in standardizing their operations with Wired Drillpipe is a testament to the value it brings versus conventional drillpipe.”

Version two of IntelliServ Wired Drillpipe has evolved to deliver even higher uptime performance and was designed to be easier to handle in demanding drilling operations. The agreement, which also includes eVolve Optimization & Automation Services, highlights NOV’s continued investment in the design, development, and provision of a broad portfolio of products and services that enable downhole and surface drilling automation.