Hess Corp. is using four Nabors all-electric drilling rigs in the Bakken.

Nabors converted all of its Hess drilling rigs in the Bakken by installing its Canrig PowerTAP™ highline power transformer module to obtain power directly from the utility grid. Backup onsite generators ensure power goes uninterrupted should an outage occur.

Over the next 5 years, Hess expects that this fully electric fleet will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its Bakken drilling operations by about 50% and energy costs by about 70%. Powering drilling operations with electricity also reduces noise and truck traffic.

The project was piloted in 2022 and rig reliability increased by providing a secondary power source. Hess expects that electrification of its rigs and access to highline power will also reduce downtime.

PowerTAP enables highline power utilization on any AC drilling rig where grid power is accessible, regardless of rig manufacturer. It is skid-mounted and easily installed anywhere compatible utility electrical power is available using a standalone conductor cable reel. Field results from more than 20 PowerTAP modules deployed in the Lower 48 on Nabors and non-Nabors rigs indicate an initial average CO2e savings per rig of 20 tonnes/day.

In first-quarter 2023, Hess’s net production from the Bakken was 163,000 boe/d compared with 152,000 boe/d in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to higher NGL volumes received under percentage of proceeds contracts and increased drilling and completion activity (OGJ Online, Apr. 27, 2023).

Click here to view this article