Drilling units

Modern drilling units come in many shapes and sizes, from jack-ups and semi-subs, to fixed platforms and drilling ships. On a drilling unit, nothing is more important than safety, and each unit must comply with a variety of standards and regulations. Bureau Veritas supports its clients in staying current with all industry practices, requirements, standards and safety solutions.

Industry tendency is to build high-specification rigs for the deepest water and drilling depth. However, these rigs are expensive, and not cost-effective when underutilized or out of commission. Downtime, and any incidents leading to it, must be avoided. To ensure this, unit operators and owners require a partner familiar with all kinds of drilling units, subsea assets, and floating units to serve as an Independent Verification Body (IVB) and provide Safety Case Verification.

Bureau Veritas classes all kinds of units, including jack-ups, drillships, semisubmersibles and swamp barges
Our mobile drilling unit classification services verify the structural strength and integrity of essential parts of the hull and its appendages
Bureau Veritas Solutions works with units throughout the lifecycle, from design approval to decommissioning
We offer fully independent design review services

our offer

Dedicated Rules for drilling ships (NR 569)

Our Rules for the classification and certification of offshore drillships (NR 569) are based on an extensive review of existing drilling industry regulations and technical documentation. Accounting for the specifics of drillship design and operation, they also cover the latest IMO MODU Code.

CFD analysis

Bureau Veritas Solutions’ computational fluid dynamics (CFD) services help drillers with very sophisticated CFD analyses for the flow inside drillships and moonpools. We help designers and yards optimize hull forms, saving energy and making offshore units safer and more adapted to their specific environment.

Marine warranty services

Our subsidiary MatthewsDaniel is one of the world’s leading providers of marine warranty surveys and engineering reviews. Our services help reduce the risk of loss or damage to mobile offshore drilling units, construction projects and marine operations.

Subsea unit inspections

Our subsidiary DTI specializes in subsea unit inspections. We conduct vendor surveys and audits, including for tubular products, drilling equipment, and subsea production and distribution. We also provide welding technical support.

Oil and gas drilling failure prevention

Our subsidiary TH Hill is a worldwide leader in oil and gas drilling failure prevention and analysis services. TH Hill developed the DS-1® global standard for drill string design, manufacture, operation and inspection, and STC-1 for drilling specialty tool certification.