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What We DoNautilus International LLC (NI) was formed by a group of deepwater technology experts specifically to promote new and better ways for reducing the cost of deepwater drilling, completion, testing, production, and intervention. The initial mission envisioned by the NI founders was to promote and build the company around the Self-Standing Riser technology application in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). A major opportunity to move the mission forward was availed by a research consortium called the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) (http://www.rpsea.org). This program is led by industry and works in conjunction with the DeepStar consortium to encourage new and innovative technologies for recognized deepwater GoM challenges like early testing of deepwater wells, cost-effective ways for doing deepwater intervention, and ways to improve recover factors for deepwater reservoirs via water and possibly carbon dioxide injection. NI responded and won two specific Requests for Proposals (RFPs) covering the use of coiled tubing for a cost-effective way for conducting deepwater intervention and another for deepwater early testing technologies. Winning the RPSEA awards is a major milestone for NI in its business plan since it exposes the SSR technology to a broad spectrum of industry: service companies, manufactures, contractors, NOCs and IOCs, and the U.S. deepwater regulatory agencies. A number of service companies and operators are participating in these projects as a sub-contractor to NI or on NI’s advisory board. Each project will link a second page to a monthly updated project fact sheet; it will then have a password-protected project page: Nautilus is conducting 2 projects which are co-funded by RPSEA: Coil Tubing Drilling and Intervention System - Using a Cost-Effective Vessel addresses the growing need for a low-cost well intervention system in deepwater subsea wells. The enabling technology is a patented self-standing riser that will provide companies with a safe and affordable way to complete, re-enter and maintain subsea wells. Read more Early Reservoir Appraisal, Utilizing a Well Testing System - will develop an integrated “general source” to deal with varied disciplines needed to plan, cost and run deepwater tests in the Gulf of Mexico. This project will provide a way a company can evaluate all the possibilities for deepwater testing in the Gulf of Mexico to determine the optimum options to test including the planning, costing, and operational requirements. Read more NI business vision for the U.S. portion of the GoM is to stimulate the use of the SSR for the multitude of deepwater intervention opportunities where the wells have been drilled and a subsea production tree exists or where NI installs a testing tree with the SSR on an existing wellhead. NI has the exclusive rights for the SSR technology in the GoM via Intellectual Property (IP) rights with MEPS LLC and other patent-pending IP by Dr. Millheim and Mr. Yemington. Considering all the wells that have already been drilled, plus new exploration, appraisal, and development wells, there are hundreds of intervention opportunities that in the most part could not be done without the use of a high-priced MODU (some with rates over $500,000 per day and the “spread costs” exceeding $1 million per day). One interesting aspect of this patented SSR technology is the ability to install the SSR without a MODU and make it ready for a vessel of opportunity, and this can be done during suitable weather windows. This removes the risk of leasing an expensive MODU which, in many cases, could be on standby waiting for loop currents to move away or, being faced with bad weather, has to defer operations while waiting on the weather to change. The SSR, a hundred feet or more below the surface, is unaffected. NI plans to design and have constructed SSR systems to lease (or in special instances sell) and to install the SSR for wireline intervention, coiled tubing intervention, or intervention using some type of MODU. NI does not plan to offer any coiled tubing or wireline services, only building the SSRs.
In addition to the US GoM - Mexico is experiencing a major oil production decline. The government national oil company, Pemex, recognizes that only its deepwater offers a solution to offset the decline in oil production. Mexico also has major heavy oil reserves in water depths less than 5,000 ft. However, they recognize the technical and economical challenges to develop these resources in a timely way using expensive MODUs and production facilities. The SSR technology is an answer to this challenge. One of NI’s major business thrusts is to promote the use of the SSR technology to exploit Mexico’s deepwater heavy oil reserves which are in the billion of barrels. The Mexican deepwater market for the SSR technology is huge, considering the heavy oil potential alone. In this application the SSR technology would offer cost-effective drilling, using other exclusive IP tied to the SSR technology. The technical and economic challenges facing Pemex with conventional deepwater development are not practical, coupled with the cost of major offshore production facilities, plus a complex subsea system of manifolds, pumps, special wellheads, and the need for constant intervention because of the need for electrical submersible pumps. The capital cost of this approach could be more than double that of the SSR approach. Because of the time to build the production facilities, production could not start for five to eight years. With the SSR approach oil is flowing the first year. This is why the SSR technology has such a tremendous upside potential.
Value of Solving Problems: NAUTILUS is positioned to have significant impact on these industry issues, deliver value and gather rewards. Our solutions address operational issues at the heart of the client’s business, most with significant bottom line impact. 
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