Geotechnical drilling

Geotechnical drilling recovers cores and in-situ data so foundations can be designed to the ground rather than over- or under-engineered. We design, supply and support the specialist drilling equipment across every configuration in which that work is done and the right one depends on the site, the water depth, the platform and the ground.

The configurations we engineer for

• Topside drilling – the rig, derrick, power swivel and pipe handling sit on the vessel and a drill string runs from the deck through the water column to a seabed frame on the bottom. Its central challenge is isolating the downhole tooling from vessel heave, which is why heave compensation and our Active Heave Assist matter so much in this configuration.
• Subsea / seabed drilling – the working point is referenced to the seabed itself, through a seabed frame and deployment system landed on the bottom. Referencing the operation to the seabed rather than the moving vessel removes much of the water-column motion, changing how the system is engineered and reducing dependence on heave compensation.
• Land-based drilling – rig, handling and controls engineered for onshore site investigation, where the platform is fixed and the focus is rate, sample quality and operator safety.
• Jack-up-based drilling – drilling from a jacked-up platform that has lifted clear of the water, combining a stable working base with the spread engineering of a marine drill. See jack-up barge solutions.
• Piggyback drilling – a secondary drill fitted alongside a vessel’s primary drilling system so one rig can do two jobs – a particular MintMech specialism. Full page → piggyback drilling.

What we design and build

We work at the interface between drilling operations, structural and mechanical engineering, hydraulics and controls, supplying the equipment that makes each configuration work:

• Seabed frames and deployment systems – frames with pipe clamps and shear capability, deployment winches and compensated umbilical handling to land and recover the system safely.
• Derricks, power swivels and pipe handling – the drilling spread itself, designed to recognised DNV and API offshore standards. See pipe handling system.
• Heave compensation – passive ram-rig systems plus our proprietary Active Heave Assist, which moves topside drilling from force control toward displacement control of the bit. See heave compensation.
• Automation and safety – iron roughnecks and remote tool handlers that keep people away from high-motion areas, with full interlocking and redundant, remotely-monitored control.
• Fluids and spoil – automated drilling-fluid mixing and pumping, and spoil-removal systems where the duty requires them.

The objective is never speed or depth alone, it’s the controlled recovery of high-quality, representative samples, because competent cores reduce project risk and improve margins for everyone downstream. That goal sits behind every system we build for this sector.