Expro has set a world record by deploying the heaviest casing string to date, using its Blackhawk® Gen III Wireless Top Drive Cement Head with SKYHOOK® technology. The record was achieved on a significant project in the Gulf of America/Gulf of Mexico for a super major.
The operation, conducted aboard the Transocean Deepwater Titan – an 8th-generation ultra-deepwater drillship – set a new benchmark in deepwater well construction. With a maximum hook load of 2.849 million lbs, the casing deployment exceeded all prior offshore records.
The Gen III cement head with SKYHOOK® now stands as the only three million pound combined rated cementing system in the industry, designed to deliver unmatched safety, efficiency, and reliability in the most extreme offshore environments.
The Expro BLACKHAWK® Gen III Top-Drive Cement Head is optimal for rotating while cementing drill pipe-deployed casing strings or liners. When combined with the SKYHOOK® Cement Line Make-Up Device, the wireless cement heads enhance the safety of cementing operations by eliminating the need for personnel above the rig floor and improves rig efficiency.
Expro’s Blackhawk® Gen III cement head, engineered for full pressure and tensile capacity – 15,000 psi and three million pounds, respectively – was instrumental in enabling this feat. Unlike other systems that require derating under high-pressure conditions, the Gen III system maintained full performance and structural integrity throughout the operation.
“This deployment marks a step-change in offshore cementing, setting a new standard for ultra-deep high-pressure targets,” said Jeremy Angelle, VP of Well Construction at Expro. “We are extremely proud to have supported this operator in achieving this critical milestone with a robust, high-performance cement head that delivered safely and reliably under record-setting loads.”
