Progress and Prospect of Key Equipments for Arctic Deepwater Drilling

With the depletion of conventional oil and gas resources and the increase of oil prices,more and more countries and oil companies begin to pay attention to the Arctic area for its rich oil and gas resouces.Cold deepwater drilling technology in China is now in the exploratory stage,it is very important to know the advancement in Arctic drilling,which can promote technological advancement in deepwater drilling and ensure the safety and security of energy supply in China.But it is very difficult to realize drilling in Arctic due to the harsh marine environment,a remote location with difficult logistics,and sensitive ecological environment.Through investigation and extensive review of literatures,this paper summarized the progress of key technologies and equipment in Arctic deepwater drilling,including icebreaker,store ship,drilling ship,drilling platform,ice management system and low temperature drilling rig,etc.Some tentative viewpoints and suggestions were proposed in Arctic deepwater drilling technologies.