Claxton Engineering Services Ltd, an Acteon company, is supplying a Norwegian client with a complete subsea drilling riser package enhanced by services and equipment drawn from around the Acteon Group.

    The 7000-psi, 24-in. riser will be used to drill one well and two completion wells in 135 m of water: the deepest water in the Norwegian North Sea tackled to date.

    Comprising riser joints, custom flange connectors, vortex-induced-vibration suppression fairings, a bespoke tension system and a proprietary Claxton NT2 handling tool, the riser system is the result of close collaboration between Claxton and several sister Acteon companies: 2H Offshore, Subsea Riser Products and Pulse Structural Monitoring.

    Subsea Riser Products is supplying the custom flanges for the riser. These have a smaller diameter than standard API flanges and offer improved make-up times and fatigue characteristics.

    In addition, Pulse Structural Monitoring will provide a complete riser monitoring system that will give the client real-time fatigue, bending and stress monitoring data to help determine how the riser is performing. This has obvious safety and operational benefits.

    Dannie Claxton, technical director, Claxton, said, “The supply of this system underlines Claxton’s position as the leading subsea riser supplier. We have more pressure, connector, riser tensioning and handling tool options than any other supplier. Additionally, our close links with the other riser specialists within Acteon mean we can offer equipment configurations that cannot be sourced anywhere else. All of this is backed up by experience gained during more than 20 years’ running risers offshore.”

    Claxton has one of the largest inventories of drilling risers and ancillary equipment in the North Sea region, with connection options right up to 12,200-psi, full-bore, 18¾-in API/NACE compliant technology.

    The new 7000-psi riser will be used for 240 days and is due to be run for the first time in early 2012.