Kinetic Pressure Control tech debuts on Noble BlackHornet

Noble fitted its BlackHornet drillship with a stemless gate valve, a well control technology developed with Kinetic Pressure Control that provides a dedicated means of sealing the wellbore during managed pressure drilling (MPD) operations.

Teams across Noble worked closely with Kinetic and other industry experts to evaluate the valve’s reliability, installation requirements, maintenance considerations, and integration with existing well control systems, including careful integration with the rig’s BOP system.

Noble BlackHornet is a 2014-built seventh-generation Gusto P10000 drillship capable of operating in water depths up to 3,658 m and drilling to depths of 12,192 m, with dynamic positioning, dual-activity capability, a hookload capacity of 1,250 tonnes and two seven-ram blowout preventers. The drillship is currently working for BP in the US Gulf.