Woodside lets drilling contract to SLB for Trion development, offshore Mexico

Woodside Energy has let a drilling contract to energy technology company SLB for the ultra-deepwater Trion development project in the Gulf of Mexico. 

SLB will oversee the delivery of 18 ultra-deepwater wells. The full scope of the contract includes digital directional drilling services and hardware, logging while drilling (LWD), surface logging, cementing, drilling and completions fluids, completions, and wireline services.

The Trion drilling contract, services for which will begin in early 2026, follows one the SLB OneSubsea joint venture was awarded in 2023 from Woodside for subsea horizontal trees, controls, and topside equipment. Manufacturing is currently on track, the service provider said.

Woodside is developing Trion (60%, operator) in partnership with partner PEMEX Exploración y Producción (40%). The field lies at a water depth of 2,500 m, about 180 km off the Mexican coast, and was discovered by state-owned Pemex in 2012. 

The field will be developed with 18 wells (nine producers, seven water injectors, and two gas injectors) drilled in the initial phase and a total of 24 wells drilled over the life of the project. The development is targeting 479 MMboe of best estimate (2C) contingent oil and gas (OGJ Online, Dec. 6, 2023). 

The companies passed a project milestone in January 2025 with a steel-cutting ceremony for the project’s 100,000 b/d floating production unit (FPU) at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea. At the time, the companies noted the Trion development was more than 15% complete. First production is targeted in 2028.