Fincantieri Offshore business unit has recently completed  two innovative projects of UDW Drillship : “Overdrill” and “Proxima”for a maximum drilling  depth of 50.000 ft and 12.000ft of water depth. The two projects are characterized by increased operational drilling loads and free areas of the open decks while limiting the size of the vessel.

The targets  have been achieved thanks to the integration of the drilling equipment into the hull  and thanks to the co-design shared with the drill vendors and with other technological partners. The final result of this approach has been to significantly lower the total center of gravity and to increase the variable deck load.

The multidisciplinary optimization process followed during the concept design stages has led to very efficient final results in terms of reduced operational downtimes and improved safety onboard as well.

Thanks to the characteristics obtained (e.g. higher stability, large operational spaces, increased variable deck load, improved sea keeping) the vessels may also be easily further upgraded in  relation to possible future evolutions of drilling systems which may imply the installation of larger size/weights equipment.