Fugro Seacore's R100 marine drill was mobilised onto the Fugro Saltire in Falmouth Docks in December 2008. The vessel then transited for three weeks to Montevideo to mobilise for the project and collect the Client before sailing to site.
Three site investigation boreholes were successfully completed during the three week drilling campaign with CPT and soil sampling tests being performed using the XP wire line drill string, pressure operated tool. The boreholes were drilled and tested to 200m below the seabed in water depths up to 1500m.
The spread was able to hold position with the drill string in the borehole through 5m sea swells. The "cutting edge" aspect of the project was the ROV "hot stab" hydraulically operated, seabed frame pipe clamps, required for clamping the drill string during sampling operations.
The seabed frame was deployed with an option of two techniques: firstly on the drill string and secondly, using the Fugro Saltire compensated crane. The drill string was then manipulated into the seabed frame using the ROV. This methodology allowed the vessel to leave site part way through a borehole to undertake a crew change, leaving the seabed frame on the seabed, providing ease of re-entry at a later date and keeping the borehole open.