ONTARIO

Bruce 3 refurbishment stage completed in record time

06 August 2024

The reactor removal series at Bruce unit 3 has been completed ahead of schedule thanks to experience gained from previous projects - with the removal of the calandria tubes setting a new record for Candu refurbishment.

(Image: Bruce Power)

Bruce 3 is the second unit to undergo Major Component Replacement (MCR). The process involves removing and replacing key reactor components including steam generators, pressure tubes, calandria tubes and feeder tubes and adding 30-35 years to the reactor's operating life. In total, six units at the Bruce site in Ontario are to be refurbished: the first to undergo the process, Bruce 6, returned to commercial operation last September.

Unit 3 was taken offline to begin its MCR outage in March 2023. The removal of feeder tubes, pressure tubes, calandria tubes and other internal components has taken nine months, with the work carried out by the MCR project team, alongside vendor partners Shoreline Power Group (a joint venture between Aecon, AtkinsRéalis and United Engineers & Constructors) and ATS Industrial Automation. The removal of the 480 calandria tubes - seam-welded tubes which penetrate the cylindrical reactor vessel and accommodate the pressure tubes that contain fuel and coolant - was completed 11 days ahead of schedule on 26 July.

Leveraging the experience of tradespeople, and innovation through lessons learned and technological advancement, meant that the removal series was completed in less time than the same work had taken in unit 6's MCR.

"Each successive MCR outage brings an opportunity for performance improvement, and we're committed to returning these units to service safely and successfully to meet Ontario's clean energy needs well into the future," said Laurent Seigle, Bruce Power's executive vice-president, Projects. "To execute a project of this scale and complexity, it takes an ecosystem of nuclear professionals to work together toward a common goal," he added.

Shoreline's millwrights, boilermakers and electricians will now transition to commissioning, operating and maintaining a first-of-a-kind, six-axis robotic tooling system for reactor inspection and installation work including the replacement of 960 feeder tubes and 480 fuel channels as well as the calandria tubes. Automated tooling systems, the majority of which have been designed, tested and manufactured by ATS Industrial Automation, will be used in the cleaning and inspection of thousands of components on both faces of the reactor.

The next Bruce unit to undergo MCR will be unit 4, beginning in 2025. Units 5, 7 and 8 will also be refurbished over the next 10 years. The work will directly and indirectly create and sustain about 1500 jobs over the next 15 years in Grey, Bruce and Huron counties, and throughout Ontario, the companies said.

NexGen updates economics for Rook I

02 August 2024

The change in costs for the company's 100%-owned project in Saskatchewan reflects both inflationary changes over recent years and the advancement of engineering and procurement, optimised constructability, and enhanced environmental performance.

Rook I, in the southwestern area of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan (Image: NexGen)

The updated estimated pre-production capital costs - or CapEx - are CAD2.2 billion (USD1.58 billion). The estimated average cash operating cost (OpEx) over the life of mine (LOM) of CAD13.86 per pound U3O8 (USD9.98 per pound) is described by the company as "industry leading".

Previously - in a feasibility study published in 2021 - the project's CapEx had been estimated at CAD1.3 billion, with average OpEx over the LOM at CAD7.58 per pound U3O8. The updated CapEx reflects some CAD310 million in direct and attributable inflationary increases since 2020, and around CAD590 million in increased CapEx from enhancements identified through advanced engineering and procurement activity since March 2021, the company said. The updated OpEx estimate reflects an increase of CAD2.65 per pound U3O8 due to inflationary adjustments and CAD3.63 per pound due to advanced design developments, advancement of procurement, and operational and ongoing elite environmental enhancements.

The design of the mine incorporates an underground tailings management facility, and most of the mine's reclamation will take place concurrently with production. As well as enhancing environmental performance during operation, this will reduce the risk of ongoing reclamation, costly decommissioning at the end of the production period, and the post-closure risk to the local environment and communities. Some CAD900 million of costs associated with the progressive reclamation over the LOM have already been incorporated into the CapEx, OpEx and sustaining capital costs, meaning that full closure costs at the end of the mine's life - expected to be around CAD70 million - will be "materially lower than other uranium mines in Canada".

NexGen is currently working to secure the federal and provincial approvals needed to move forward with the project, and says it is ready for major construction activities to begin immediately when the final federal environmental assessment approval is received: it has already received provincial environmental assessment approval. The project is now about 45% complete, and the company said it is "advancing well with the significant build out of the project development team that includes industry experts in shaft sinking, underground mining and development, and surface operations."

CEO Leigh Curyer said the updated capital cost is an "all-encompassing spend" to bring the project into production, with a payback period of 12 months. "It is a very exciting time at NexGen as the Company advances the finalisation of the Federal Environmental Assessment, readies for immediate commencement of construction on final Federal Approval, and in parallel continue to test the recently discovered Patterson Corridor East mineralisation 3.5kms east of the Arrow deposit," he said.

The Arrow uranium deposit at Rook I has measured and indicated mineral resources of 256.7 million pounds U3O8, supporting an 11-year LOM.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Milestones for Rajasthan reactors old and new

05 August 2024

Days after unit 3 at the Rajasthan nuclear power plant returned to service after the completion of major refurbishment, fuel loading has begun at the first of two Indian-designed and built 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors under construction at the site in Rawatbhata. Rajasthan unit 7 is expected to begin commercial operation before the end of the year.

A fuel bundle is placed on a guide plate for loading into RAPP 7 (Image: NPCIL)

Fuel loading began at the Rajasthan Nuclear Power Project unit 7 (also known as RAPP-7) on 1 August after permission was granted by India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board following stringent safety and security reviews, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) said.  A total of 4704 fuel bundles will be loaded in the reactor's 392 coolant channels.

"Initial Fuel Loading will be followed by First Approach to Criticality (start of fission chain reaction) and subsequent start of power generation. The unit is expected to commence commercial operation in the current year," the company said. A second unit under construction at the same site, RAPP-8, is expected to come online next year, it added.

The unit is the third in a series of 16 pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) which India has said it plans to build: the first two units - at Kakrapar, in Gujurat, began commercial operation in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Site works are also under way for the construction of two 700 MW units at Gorakhpur in Haryana, and ten further 700 MW PHWRs have received administrative approval and financial sanction: Kaiga units 5 and 6 in Karnataka; Gorakhpur units 3 and 4 in Haryana; Chutka units 1 and 2 in Madhya Pradesh; and Mahi Banswara units 1 and 2 and units 3 and 4 in Rajasthan.

NPCIL's announcement of the start of fuel loading came the day after Minister of State Jitendra Singh told the Indian parliament, in separate written answers, that India's nuclear share is currently 2.8% and its installed nuclear capacity is expected to expand from its present 8180 MWe to 22480 MW by 2031-2032.

Over the period to 2030, capacity is set to increase to 14,080 MWe, Singh told the Lok Sabha, as units that are already under construction or undergoing commissioning come online. As well as the two Rajasthan units, these include four Russian-designed and supplied VVER-1000 reactors currently under construction at Kudankulam and the 500 MWe Indian-designed Kalpakkam prototype fast breeder, which is preparing for first criticality.

Singh said the government has accorded in-principle approval for thirty further units: six 1650 MWe reactors, in cooperation with France, at Jaitapur in Maharashtra; six 1208 MWe reactors in at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh and six 1000 MWe reactors at Mithi Virdi in Gujarat, in cooperation with the USA; six 1000 MWe reactors in cooperation with Russia at Haripur in West Bengal; and four 700 MWe indigenous PHWR units at Bhimpur in Madhya Pradesh

RAPP 3 returns to service

NPCIL announced the return to service of RAPP 3 on 29 July, five days after the 220 MWe PHWR was reconnected to the grid after "major renovation and modernisation" to enable the plant to continue operating for the next 30 years.

The unit had completed over 22 years of operation when it was taken offline for the renovation work in October 2022. The work - which included replacement of coolant channels and feeders, as well as other upgrades - was completed using indigenously developed technologies "in the shortest time among Indian reactors where similar activities were taken up," NPCIL said. The work was completed "within budget" and at a cost "much lower than incurred internationally in PHWRs," it added.

San'ao 2 reactor vessel delivered

06 August 2024

The reactor pressure vessel for unit 2 of the San'ao nuclear power plant has arrived at the construction site in China's Zhejiang province, CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power announced.

Part of the reactor pressure vessel being unloaded at the San'ao site (Image: CGN)

The vessel - manufactured by Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Equipment Company Limited - departed from Shanghai on 30 July and arrived at the San'ao site on 2 August after four days of sea transportation. Following two days of channel clearing and other preparatory work, unloading and hoisting work was carried out at the quay on 4 August.

"The smooth arrival of the reactor pressure vessel provides strong support and guarantee for the subsequent installation of the main equipment in the nuclear island and the welding of the main pipelines of unit 2 of the San'ao nuclear power project," CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power said.

San'ao 2 is the second of six Chinese-designed HPR1000 (Hualong One) pressurised water reactors planned at the site.

In May 2015, the National Energy Administration approved the project to carry out site protection and related demonstration work at San'ao. On 2 September 2020, the executive meeting of the State Council approved the construction of units 1 and 2 as the first phase of the plant. China's National Nuclear Safety Administration issued a construction permit for the two units on 30 December that year and first concrete for unit 1 was poured the following day. The first concrete for San'ao 2 was poured on 30 December 2021.

San'ao 1 and 2 are scheduled to begin supplying electricity in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

The San'ao plant is the first nuclear power project in China's Yangtze River Delta region to adopt the Hualong One reactor design.

The San'ao project marks the first Chinese nuclear power project involving private capital, with Geely Technology Group taking a 2% stake in the plant. China General Nuclear (CGN) holds 46% of the shares of the project company Cangnan Nuclear Power, with other state-owned enterprises holding the remainder.

Lithuania narrows search for repository site

05 August 2024

Lithuania has identified 77 potential locations for its planned geological repository for used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. A final decision on the facility's location is not expected until 2047.

The concept of Lithuania's repository (Image: Ignalina NPP)

Lithuania's Development Programme for the Management of Nuclear Facilities and Radioactive Waste 2021-2030, proposes that long-lived radioactive waste in the country will be stored in interim storage facilities until the end of their operational period when there will be final disposal in a geological disposal facility (GDF). The repository - a specially engineered structure several hundred metres underground - is expected to be constructed and commissioned in 2068. Lithuania's radioactive waste and used fuel comes from the Ignalina plant, which stopped operating in 2009, as well as from medicine, industry and research.

Currently, used nuclear fuel and long-lived radioactive waste are stored in temporary above-ground repositories, which are designed to last at least 50 years. At the end of the term of operation of the storage facilities, the finally processed long-lived radioactive waste will have to be transferred to a deep repository.

The initial phase of the project is currently underway - research for the selection of a deep disposal site.

To select a site for a deep repository, all potential areas are evaluated according to the three criteria of general requirements established by the International Atomic Energy Agency: long-term safety; technical suitability and operational safety; socio-economic, political and environmental circumstances.

An original 110 possible locations for the facility were identified. However, after the evaluation of the results of independent studies, it was found that according to the set of unsuitability (rejection) criteria 33 sites should be rejected. It was determined that 31 locations do not meet the criteria for the presence of groundwater, mineral deposits, and helium anomalies that determine GDF stability. Two sites were also rejected based on socio-economic criteria (based on territorial planning and environmental criteria). To date, 77 potential locations have been identified in 29 Lithuanian municipalities.

In March of this year, a public consultation was held in Vilnius, during which the project, the potential locations of the deep landfill and the installation stages were presented to the representatives of the municipalities, and the questions raised by the participants were answered.

"Only after comprehensive and detailed studies, assessing geological, geophysical and seismic data from deep boreholes, and public consultation, is it envisaged that a final site for the deep repository will be selected," said Ignalina NPP, which is responsible for developing the facility.

The research programme for the site selection of the deep landfill is expected to be completed by 2047. It is tentatively planned that the repository will be built in 2058-2067, operated in 2068-2074, and closed in 2075-2079.

The concept for the Lithuanian GDF was developed by Posiva Solutions Oy, a subsidiary of Finnish waste management company Posiva, under a contract signed in early 2022. Posiva is jointly owned by Finnish nuclear power companies and has developed that country's geological disposal facility at Olkiluoto. The repository is expected to begin operations in the mid-2020s, becoming the first of its kind in the world.

A GDF comprises a network of highly-engineered underground vaults and tunnels built to permanently dispose of higher activity radioactive waste so that no harmful levels of radiation ever reach the surface environment. Countries such as Finland, Sweden, France, Canada, the UK and the USA are also pursuing this option.

Two large RBMK reactors at the Ignalina nuclear power plant provided 70% of Lithuania's electricity until their closure in 2004 and 2009 as a condition of the country joining the European Union. The power plant is being decommissioned by Ignalina NPP, which has removed fuel from the reactors and placed it into dry casks for interim storage at the site. The decommissioning process is due to last until 2038.

Contract for BN-1200 design work

05 August 2024

JSC Atomenergoproekt and Rosenergoatom - Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom's engineering and power plant operating divisions, respectively - have signed a contract to develop design documentation for the construction of the BN-1200 fast sodium reactor.

(Image: Beloyarsk NPP)

The contract includes a full cycle of design and survey work necessary for the development of design documentation and materials to justify the construction licence for the reactor, which will be built as unit 5 of the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in Russia's Sverdlovsk region.

Currently, comprehensive engineering surveys have begun, which is one of the first stages of design. The aim of these surveys is to study natural conditions and man-made impact factors to develop design documentation for the construction of the power unit and to assess the impact of the designed facility on the environment. Engineering surveys will be carried out on a site with an area of ​​620,000 square metres.

By the end of 2024, the general designer will have developed design documentation for the first stage of construction, the preparatory period works, which will allow the general contractor, JSC Atomstroyexport, to begin the preparatory period of construction as early as 2025.

The design documentation for the main stage of construction of the power unit will be submitted by the end of 2025 to the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant for approval.

In 2026, it is planned to conduct a state examination of the design documentation and submit an application to Russian nuclear regulator to obtain a licence for the construction for Beloyarsk unit 5.

Rosenergoatom has scheduled the pouring of the first concrete for the reactor in June 2027.

The sodium-cooled BN-series fast reactor plans are part of Rosatom's project to develop fast reactors with a closed fuel cycle whose mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel will be reprocessed and recycled. In addition to the BN-600 reactor at Beloyarsk unit 3, which began operation in 1980, the 789 MWe BN-800 fast at Beloyarsk unit 4 entered commercial operation in October 2016. This is essentially a demonstration unit for fuel and design features for the larger BN-1200, which will be unit 5 at Beloyarsk.

Rosatom said the service life of the BN-1200 power unit will be at least 60 years. Its design uses technical solutions that have proven themselves in the operation of the BN-600 and BN-800 reactors. The justification of structural materials and fuel for the BN-1200 is carried out using the operation of the BN-600.

Rosatom noted the BN-1200 also features innovations. For example, the BN-1200 will have four instead of three loops for the circulation of liquid sodium, like its predecessors; the volume of the in-reactor storage facility will be increased to allow the unloading of fuel assemblies from the reactor directly into the used fuel pool, eliminating the intermediate drum for used assemblies; and the turbine condensers will be cooled using a chimney-type evaporative cooling tower.

"As part of the work in the Generation IV direction, the Rosatom State Corporation is creating a new technological platform for the deployment of nuclear energy of the future, based on fast reactors operating in a closed nuclear fuel cycle," said Beloyarsk NPP Director Ivan Sidorov. "The lead model of such a serial power unit, BN-1200, will be located at the Beloyarsk NPP. Rosatom has moved from individual unique projects, such as BN-600 and BN-800, to serial, conveyor production at BN-1200. New technological solutions allow for the full use of the energy potential of uranium raw materials, and also have a new level of safety."

Alexander Yashkin, director for the Design of Advanced NPPs and Special Facilities - Head of the Breakthrough Responsibility Center of JSC Atomenergoproekt, added: "Rosatom is the world leader in fast reactor NPP technology. Many years of experience in the development, construction and subsequent support of BN-600 and BN-800 reactors led us to the creation of Generation IV projects - the BN-1200 power unit and the project to close the nuclear fuel cycle."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

The World’s 15 Largest Energy Consumers

By ZeroHedge - Aug 02, 2024

• Qatar and Iceland top the list of countries with the highest energy consumption per capita in 2023, driven by abundant natural gas reserves and geothermal energy, respectively.
• 
  
• North America consumes the most energy per person globally, nearly three times the worldwide average, influenced by colder climates and extensive manufacturing sectors.
• 
  
• Energy consumption patterns vary significantly across regions, with Africa and South and Central America consuming substantially less energy per capita compared to North America.

Global energy consumption has significant regional variations due to differences in industrialization levels, climate conditions, population density, and access to natural resources, as well as varying energy policies and economic activities across countries.

For instance, countries with colder climates may consume more energy for heating, while highly industrialized nations may have higher per capita energy usage due to their extensive manufacturing sectors.

This chart below, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, shows the top 15 countries by energy consumption per capita in 2023, as well as the consumption per capita for each global region.

The figures are represented in gigajoules (GJ) per capita and come from the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2024 report.

Qatar and Iceland Consume Most Energy Per Capita

Qatar had the highest per capita energy consumption worldwide in 2023 at 817 GJ per person. Almost all of the country’s energy consumption is derived from natural gas, of which the country has abundant reserves.

Countries located in hot or cold climates that are also rich in a particular energy resource, such as Qatar and its natural gas or Iceland and its geothermal energy, made up many of the top per capita energy consumers in 2023.

These countries tend to consume more energy to heat or cool homes and often use more energy since electricity costs are often on the lower end. Along with this, many of the top energy consuming countries per capita have fairly low populations, with Canada and Saudi Arabia being the only nations in the top 10 with populations of more than 10 million.

A Regional Perspective

Looking at global regions, North America unsurprisingly consumes the most energy per person, at 240 GJ per capita, almost three times the global average of 77 GJ.

North America’s numbers are in contrast to regions like Africa, that consumes 14 GJ per capita, or even South and Central America at 58 GJ per capita.

According to the Energy Institute, around 750 million people worldwide, or 1 out of every 10 people do not have access to electricity.

By Zerohedge.com

Global Demand for Renewable Energy Is Set to Surge

By Felicity Bradstock - Aug 03, 2024

• Global demand for electricity is set to double by 2050, driving a surge in renewable energy demand.
• 
  
• The increasing use of AI, electric vehicles, and data centers is accelerating the need for renewable energy sources.
• 
  
• Utilities and energy companies are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities as they race to expand renewable energy capacity to meet growing demand.
• 
  

New reports show that renewable energy demand is expected to soar in the coming years as several countries around the globe undergo a green transition. The global energy demand is expected to increase in line with population growth, industrialization, and the rise in the use of complex technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). 

The global demand for electricity is expected to double by 2050 compared to 2020 levels according to recent assessments. This is driving countries to ramp up their renewable energy capacity to support a green transition as well as respond to the growing demand. However, the sharp increase in the use of complex technologies could spur even more growth in demand than currently anticipated. 

The CEO of the U.S. energy firm NextEra Energy, John Ketchum, recently stated that the demand for renewable energy will likely triple over the next seven years in line with the growing use of AI. In the second quarter of 2024, NextEra added 3,000 MW of renewable and storage projects to its order backlog, 28 percent of which came from deals to power Google’s data centers. This marked the second-best quarter in NextEra’s history. Ketchum stated, “These results support our belief that the bulk of the growth demand will be met by a combination of renewables and battery storage.” NextEra currently has a portfolio of 7 GW of renewable energy in operation and backlog. 

The company believes that the power demand for data centers, manufacturing, and the electrification of the economy will increase at a rate of around four times faster in the coming decades compared to the previous two decades. This sentiment has been echoed by several energy intelligence companies, as the global demand for electric vehicles (EVs), industrial power and data centres rises sharply. As the U.S. and other countries around the globe strive to transition away from fossil fuels in favor of renewable alternatives, there is a huge pressure to increase renewable energy capacity to meet the growing demand and ensure that the economy does not stagnate due to an undersupply of renewable power. 

Rebecca Kujawa, CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, explained “But there is no escaping the fact that these are very large numbers and numbers that I don’t think any utility across the industry has seen before.” Kujawa added, “From a practical standpoint, it’s going to take a couple of years for this really to materialize and utilities to be able to absorb it and serve it.”

Several sectors will contribute to the growth in renewable energy demand in the coming decades, the first of which is the electrification of transportation. Several governments worldwide have established strategies for the electrification of public and private transport, including trains, buses, trucks, and cars. This will require a huge shift away from fossil fuels to renewable electricity sources. In 2022, EVs accounted for around 2 percent of the global automobile market, a figure that is expected to rise to 50 percent by 2035, demonstrating the massive anticipated shift in energy demand for private transportation. 

Global industrialization is also expected to contribute heavily to the increase in renewable energy demand as several heavy industries look to decarbonize operations. Many industries are investing in green hydrogen as a fossil fuel replacement, with the value of the green hydrogen market expected to increase in value at a CAGR of 31 percent between 2024 and 2032. By 2030, the global deployment of green hydrogen is expected to reach 150 GW, equivalent to around 63,750 tons per day, as governments worldwide put pressure on heavy industries to reduce their carbon emissions. 

One of the biggest areas of growth is likely to be seen in the data centres required to power the adoption of new technologies. The increase in the use of AI services, such as Chat-GPT, is expected to rapidly drive up the global power demand. The energy consumption of data centres is expected to double by 2026 and continue growing. This is pushing many major tech companies to invest heavily in the development of green energy capacity to ensure they can produce enough clean energy to meet the growing demand. 

Finally, as climate change worsens, the demand for power for cooling and heating is rising. This is paired with the growth of the middle class in many emerging economies, increasing the demand for air conditioning systems. In colder countries, many governments are encouraging the use of heat pumps over gas boilers, which will also require higher quantities of renewable energy to power them. 

The global growth of several sectors and the pressure to decarbonize is expected to contribute to a sharp rise in the demand for renewable energy in the coming decades. As demand grows, governments worldwide are scurrying to expand their renewable energy capacity to support a transition away from fossil fuels. However, based on the rapid speed of the development of certain industries, such as technologies that require data centers, many countries will need to increase their green energy capacity faster if they want to ensure economic development is not halted due to a lack of a clean power supply.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

 Occidental Petroleum

(BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY BY ANY OTHER NAME)

 and Ecopetrol to Drill World's Deepest Offshore Oil Well

ANOTHER ECODISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN

By Alex Kimani - Aug 04, 2024

• Occidental Petroleum and Ecopetrol plan to drill Komodo-1, the world's deepest offshore oil well, off Colombia's waters, reaching a depth of 3,900 meters.
• 
  
• Improvements in marine-seismic technology have enabled exploration at greater depths and distances, revolutionizing offshore oil drilling.
• 
  
• The global energy sector is experiencing a deepwater drilling boom, with deepwater oil and gas production projected to increase by 60% by 2030.

U.S. shale producer Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY) and Colombia's integrated energy company Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) are planning to drill an offshore oil well off Colombia's waters in seas roughly 3,900 meters (close to 13,000 feet) deep before the year is out, Bloomberg has reported. Dubbed Komodo-1, the ultra-deepwater well will qualify as the deepest offshore oil well in the world, beating Angola's block 48 well, which holds the current world-record water depth of 3,628 m (11,903 ft). 

"Offshore and deepwater are currently undergoing a remarkable renaissance, driven by the imperatives of energy security, regionalization, and a maturing and disciplined North American shale supply," James West, an analyst at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to investors. 

According to Ecopetrol's offshore chief, Elsa Jaimes, the dizzying depths reached by offshore oil wells such as Komodo-1 are made possible by improvements in marine-seismic technology that allows exploration at greater depths and distances. 

Offshore oil wells are measured in two ways: water depth and true vertical depth, or TVD. Water depth measures the distance between the rig floating on the surface and the spot on the seafloor where drilling will begin (like Komodo-1), while TVD measures the distance between the rig and the bottom of the well deep inside the Earth. In the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) industry, deepwater is defined as water depth greater than 1,000 feet, while ultra-deepwater is defined as depths greater than 5,000 feet. 

The deepest offshore well in terms of TVD is Qatar's petroleum well drilled in the Al Shaheen Oil Field in 2008, which reached 12,289 meters (40,318 feet). That's deeper than Russia's Kola Superdeep well that was drilled during the famous Space Race, mainly between the United States and former USSR. Kola reached a depth of 12,262 meters (40,230 feet), although it does not produce oil or natural gas.

According to industry data provider Enverus, more than 40 ultra-deepwater wells are expected to be drilled in the current year, making 2024 the busiest for ultra-deepwater drilling in a decade.

Deepwater Boom

More countries are increasingly exploring their offshore potential as some onshore reserves begin to peter out. Recently, Ecopetrol  CEO Ricardo Roa revealed the company is considering buying gas assets in Colombia from Canadian operator Canacol Energy (OTCQX:CNNEF) due to ongoing concerns that Colombia will lose gas self-sufficiency in five years. 

Recently, we reported that four largely unexplored sedimentary basins in India could hold more oil than the Permian Basin. India's lesser-known Category-II and III basins, namely Mahanadi, Andaman Sea, Bengal, and Kerala-Konkan, contain an estimated 22 million barrels of crude, more oil than the Permian Basin which has already produced 14 billion of its 34 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves. Interestingly, India is looking to go deepwater and ultra-deepwater in these basins.  

"ONGC and Oil India hold acreages in the Andaman waters under the Open Acreage Licensing Program (OALP) and have planned a few significant projects. However, India still awaits the entry of an international oil company with deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration expertise to participate in current and upcoming OALP bidding rounds and explore these frontier regions," Rahul Chauhan, an upstream analyst at Commodity Insights, has said, emphasizing the potential of India's unexplored Oil & Gas sector.

Last year, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the government-owned parent company of  PetroChina, and Cnooc (OTCPK: CEOHF) kicked off ultra-deepwater exploratory drilling for oil and gas as the country looks to wean itself off of foreign oil. CNPC will drill a test borehole of up to 11,000 meters (36,089 feet), the country's deepest ever, in a bid to to test underground drilling techniques and also gain a better understanding of the Earth's internal structure.

The global energy sector is currently experiencing a deepwater drilling boom. According to Wood Mackenzie, deepwater oil and gas production is set to increase by 60% by 2030, to contribute 8% of overall upstream production. Deepwater production remains the fastest-growing upstream oil and gas segment, with production expected to hit 10.4 million boe/d in 2022 from just 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in 1990. Wood Mackenzie has predicted that by the end of the decade, that figure will pass 17 million boe/d. Meanwhile, ultra-deepwater production is set to continue growing at breakneck speed to account for half of all deepwater production by 2030.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com