Drilling Operations

Drilling technology has evolved considerably since those days (a full

century and a half ago) along with the machinery used for the
purpose, both on - and off - shore.

There are over thousands Mobile Offshore Drilling Units alone in

operation today in the Gulf, with the most modern ones costing as
much as US$ 300-400 million to construct. KeppelFELS is one major
rig-builder contributing to the supply of world-class offshore drilling
rigs suitable to work in every part of the world.
These 650 + MODU’s in the worldwide fleet represent dozens of
different styles, or classes of rigs.

Some are specialized ships, modified to carry a

drilling derrick, and maintain their position
over the ‘hole’ either with anchors, or
dynamic positioning [ DP uses satellite technology,
together with thrusters motors to maintain the ships
position over the 'hole', even during high sea conditions ].

Some of these vessels can drill in over12000 ft. of

water depth . sinking well holes many times that distance ! jack-up rig
Many fall into the "jack-up" category, which contains over 60 ‘sub-classes’
itself. These are typically restricted to working in shallower waters,
approximately 350 ft. or less. A newer concept in drilling is being utilized
in the deeper water arena.
Floating platforms, twice the size of a football
field, are anchored firmly to the bottom ( using
vertical "tension legs" ), and prevented from
‘swaying’ by using anchors, further out on all sides,
in ‘guy-wire’ fashion.

These facilities can then be used to both drill the

wells, and then act as the production station as
well.

Another type of rig is the semi - submersible.

These units also either anchor themselves in place,
or use DP for extended periods of drilling, then are
moved to a new drilling location while a permanent
installation is placed at the drilled well(s).
The word "Petroleum" means rock oil and is derived from the Greek petra
- rock and the Latin oleum - oil. Petroleum is thought to have developed
from organic matter deposited with rock particles during the formation
of sedimentary rock millions of years ago.

This organic debris builds and is eventually broken down into subject
matters rich in carbon and hydrogen. Weight and pressure compact the
sediment into hard shales, which entrap these hydrocarbon particles.
Over time and under certain conditions, petroleum is produced.

The first nation to form an oil industry was France (1765 - 1849),
however it was unsuccessful

Up until around 1854 whale oil was use as lighting and lubricants. In 1854
Dr. Abraham Gesner, of Nova Scotia introduced kerosene as an
alternative.
Companies such as Gulf Oil and Texaco that were formed as a result of the
Spindletop discovery

Other large corporations and wealthy families were now become very
interested in petroleum

The banking empire of the Rothschild family and Alfred Nobel (of
dynamite and Nobel Prize fame) were both exploring in the Ukraine.

In 1908, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company had success in the Middle East and
British Petroleum was born.

At around the same time the Samuelson Trading Company in the Dutch
East Indies (now Indonesia) began trading in oil under its family logo - a
pecten sea shell.
The operating company decides where to drill only after careful consideration is
given to several factors.

The most important being that the company knows or believes that hydrocarbons
exist in the formations beneath the site and that they will get a good return on their
investment.
In known fields this is quite easy but finding new fields may mean years of forward
planning, research and searching

For this, the operator will need a team that will identify, finance and plan the
operation

Based on the information provided, the management will then decided whether to
drill.
In the early days of the industry, the only way of locating underground petroleum and
natural gas deposits was to search for surface evidence of these underground
formations.

Those searching for natural gas deposits were forced to scour the earth, looking for
seepages of oil or gas emitted from underground before they had any clue that there
were deposits underneath.

However, because such a low proportion of petroleum and natural gas deposits actually
seep to the surface, this made for a very inefficient and difficult exploration process.

The practice of locating natural gas and petroleum deposits has been transformed
dramatically in the last 15 years with the advent of extremely advanced, ingenious
technology.
As the demand for fossil fuel energy has increased dramatically over the past years, so
has the necessity for more accurate methods of locating these deposits

Technology has allowed for an incredible increase in the success rate of locating natural
reservoirs.

In this section, it will be outlined how geologists and geophysicists use technology, and
knowledge of the properties of underground natural gas deposits, to gather data that
can later be interpreted and used to make educated guesses as to where natural gas
deposits exist.

However, it must be remembered that the process of exploring for natural gas and
petroleum deposits is rife with uncertainty and trial-and-error, simply due to the
complexity of searching for something that is often thousands of feet below ground.
The exploration for natural gas typically begins with geologists examining the surface
structure of the earth, and determining areas where it is geologically likely that
petroleum or gas deposits might exist.

It was discovered in the mid 1800's that anticlinal slopes had a particularly increased
chance of containing petroleum or gas deposits.

These anticlinal slopes are areas where the earth has folded up on itself, forming the
dome shape that is characteristic of a great number of reservoirs.

By surveying and mapping the surface and sub-surface characteristics of a certain

area, the geologist can extrapolate which areas are most likely to contain a petroleum
or natural gas reservoir.
Arguably the biggest breakthrough in petroleum and
natural gas exploration came through the use of basic
seismology.

Seismology refers to the study of how energy, in the

form of seismic waves, moves through the Earth's crust
and interacts differently with various types of
underground formations.

In 1855, L. Palmiere developed the first 'seismograph',

an instrument used to detect and record earthquakes.
This device was able to pick up and record the
vibrations of the earth that occur during an
earthquake.

However, it wasn't until 1921 that this technology was

applied to the petroleum industry and used to help
locate underground oil formations.
The same sort of process is used in offshore seismic exploration.

When exploring for natural gas that may exist thousands of feet below the seabed
floor, which may itself be thousands of feet below sea level, a slightly different method
of seismic exploration is used.

Instead of trucks and geophones, a ship is used to pick up the seismic data. Instead of
geophones, offshore exploration uses hydrophones, which are designed to pick up
seismic waves underwater.

These hydrophones are towed behind the ship in various configurations depending on the
needs of the geophysicist.

Instead of using dynamite or impacts on the seabed floor, the seismic ship uses a large
air gun, which releases bursts of compressed air under the water, creating seismic
waves that can travel through the Earth's crust and generate the seismic reflections
that are necessary.
Logging refers to performing tests during or after the drilling process to
allow geologists and drill operators to monitor the progress of the well
drilling and to gain a clearer picture of subsurface formations.

There are many different types of logging, in fact; over 100 different logging
tests can be performed, but essentially they consist of a variety of tests
that illuminate the true composition and characteristics of the different
layers of rock that the well passes through.

Logging is also essential during the drilling process. Monitoring logs can
ensure that the correct drilling equipment is used and that drilling is not
continued if unfavourable conditions develop.

It is beyond the scope of this course to get into detail concerning the various
types of logging tests that can be performed.

Various types of tests include standard, electric, acoustic, radioactivity,

density, induction, caliper, directional and nuclear logging, to name but a few.
Two of the most prolific and often performed tests include standard logging
and electric logging.
Standard logging consists of examining and recording the physical aspects of
a well.
For example, the drill cuttings (rock that is displaced by the drilling of the
well) are all examined and recorded, allowing geologists to physically examine
the subsurface rock.
Also, core samples are taken, which consists of lifting a sample of
underground rock intact to the surface, allowing the various layers of rock,
and their thickness, to be examined.
These cuttings and cores are often examined using powerful microscopes,
which can magnify the rock up to 2000 times.
This allows the geologist to examine the porosity and fluid content of the
subsurface rock, and to gain a better understanding of the earth in which the
well is being drilled.
Electric logging consists of lowering a device used to measure the electric
resistance of the rock layers in the 'down hole' portion of the well.

This is done by running an electric current through the rock formation and
measuring the resistance that it encounters along its way.

This gives geologists an idea of the fluid content and characteristics.

A newer version of electric logging, called induction electric logging,

provides much the same types of readings but is more easily performed and
provides data that is more easily interpreted.
The data is interpreted by an experienced geologist, geophysicist, or petroleum
engineer, who is able to learn from what appear as 'squiggly' lines on the well data
readout.

The drilling of an exploratory or developing well is the first contact that a geologist or
petroleum engineer has with the actual contents of the subsurface geology.

Logging, in its many forms, consists of using this opportunity to gain a fuller
understanding of what actually lies beneath the surface.

In addition to providing information specific to that particular well, vast archives of

historical logs exist for geologists interested in the geologic features of a given, or
similar, area.
There are many sources of data and information for the geologist and geophysicist to
use in the exploration for hydrocarbons. However, this raw data alone would be useless
without careful and methodical interpretation.

Much like putting together a puzzle, the geophysicist uses all of the sources of data
available to create a model, or educated guess, as to the structure of the layers of rock
under the ground.

Some techniques, including seismic exploration, lend themselves well to the construction
of a hand or computer generated visual interpretation of underground formation.

Other sources of data, such as that obtained from core samples or logging, are taken
into account by the geologist when determining the subsurface geological structures.

It must be noted, however, that despite the amazing evolution of technology and
exploration techniques, the only way of being sure that a petroleum or natural gas
reservoir exists is to drill an exploratory well.
There also exists a technique using basic seismic data known as 'direct detection'. In
the mid-70's, it was discovered that white bands, called 'bright spots', often
appeared on seismic recording strips.

These white bands could indicate deposits of hydrocarbons. The nature or porous rock
containing natural gas could often result in reflecting stronger seismic reflections
than normal, water filled rock.

Therefore, in these circumstances, the actual natural gas reservoir could be detected
directly from the seismic data. However, this does not hold universally.

Many of these 'bright spots' do not contain hydrocarbons, and many deposits of
hydrocarbons are not indicated by white strips on the seismic data. Therefore,
although adding a new technique of locating petroleum and natural gas reservoirs,
direct detection is not a completely reliable method.
One of the greatest innovations in the history of petroleum exploration is the use of
computers to compile and assemble geologic data into a coherent 'map' of the
underground.

Use of this computer technology is referred to as 'CAEX', which is short for

'computer assisted exploration'.

With the proliferation of the microprocessor, it has become relatively easy to use
computers to assemble seismic data that is collected from the field.

This allows for the processing of much larger amounts of data, increasing the
reliability and informational content of the seismic model.

There are three main types of computer assisted exploration models: 2-dimensional,
3-D, and most recently, 4-D.
These imaging techniques, while relying mainly on seismic
data acquired in the field, are becoming more and more
sophisticated.

Computer technology has advanced so far that it is now

possible to incorporate the data obtained from different
types of tests, such as logging, production information, and
gravimetric testing which can all be combined to create a
'visualization' of the underground formation.

Thus geologists and geophysicists are able to combine all of

their sources of data to compile one clear, complete image Geologist Using
of subsurface geology. Interactive 3-D
Seismic
Source: BP
An example of this is shown where a geologist uses an
interactive computer generated visualization of 3-D seismic
data to explore the subsurface layers.
One of the biggest breakthroughs in computer-aided exploration was the development
of three-dimensional (3-D) seismic imaging. 3-D imaging utilizes seismic field data to
generate a three dimensional 'picture' of underground formations and geologic
features.

This, in essence, allows the geophysicist and geologist to see a clear picture of the
composition of the Earth's crust in a particular area.

Obviously, this is tremendously useful in allowing for the exploration of petroleum and
natural gas, as an actual image could be used to estimate the probability of formations
existing in a particular area, and the characteristics of that potential formation.

This technology has been extremely successful in raising the success rate of
exploration efforts. In fact, using 3-D seismic has been estimated to increase the
likelihood of successful reservoir location by 50 percent!
Most of the oil produced today is extracted by drilling into sandstone and limestone.
In contrast to shale, these so called reservoir rocks are sufficiently permeable and
porous to allow a modest amount of oil and gas to flow into the bore hole.

Porosity is defined as the quantity of oil a rock can hold, while permeability is a
measurement of the resistance as oil flows from pore to pore within the rock.

In reservoir rocks at moderate depths of 4921 to 11482 ft (1.5­3.5 km), porosity and
permeability are usually satisfactory.

At greater depths down to16000 ft (5 km), sandstone can become so impermeable

that exploitation is not financially viable even if large quantities of oil are present.

However, rocks of the required porosity do occur even at such depths.

Before any decision can made to drill a hole
several departments will offer information
and advice based on evaluations gathered
from previous wells, data collected,
calculated estimated and guessed.

The Geologist staff within the company will

give this evaluation. The management will
then decide on the action to be taken.

If they decision to go ahead and drill the

Drilling Engineer will asked to plan the well.

His planning will be based on the

information supplied.
If the location is offshore, the cost will
run into millions. The rewards may be
high, but so are the costs.

There is no proven way of accessing any

formation without drilling a hole.

Once all the legal work are completed and

in order, the drilling costs are evaluated.
The operator can then decide if they think
it is worth drilling, and if so where to put
the rig.

So far we have only looked at the planning

from the operators side.
It is the responsibility of the drilling
engineer to design and plan the well and
guide the drilling tools to the zone of
interest.

A drilling engineer is a planner of

operations, a technologist/engineer, and
a scientist.

He or she must understand and be able

to synthesise the principles of geology,
physics, mathematics, chemistry, and
engineering science.

Drilling technology is changing daily as

well get deeper and rigs operate in
deeper offshore waters. 
It is the job of the drilling engineer is to design and implement a procedure to
drill the well as economically as possible.

He/she does however, have

limitations. The safety of
the drilling crews and rig
must be a prime concern.
Governments of countries
have rules and regulations
that must be followed.
Multilateral. Horizontal Directional.

It is also important that the well be drilled so that the formations of interest
can be evaluated as to their commercial value to the oil-company.
Drilling Superintendent : He works hand in hand
with the drilling engineer as the plan develops.
He will source out equipment and companies
that will be needed for the success of the
operation.

You would have noted, ?? I said hole and not

wellbore the reason for this is, Not all holes
are drilled to produce oil or gas.

Tools and equipment will vary considerably

depending on the reason for the hole to be
drilled. 
He will be the direct link to and organise all the
contractors. This includes the drilling
contractor and all the service companies that
will be used for the operation.

In fact from experience, this position requires

the more experienced person as this individual
will carry much of the responsibility throughout
the operation.

Once the location is selected and the well plan

developed, a rig must be selected.

The selection of a rig will depend on many

variables but the depth of the intended hole will
be the main concern.
 Management
Operator Drilling Contractor
Base Team
Drilling Superintendent Rig Superintendent

Drilling Supervisor Field Team

Toolpusher
Before continuing it is extremely
Service Companies Tourpusher
important that the people going out
Mud Engineer to the rig understand the Driller
Directional Crew infrastructure and the chain of Mechanic
Mud Loggers responsibility within the working Electrician
Cement Company boundaries of the rig.
Assistant-Driller
Logging Company It is often this misunderstanding Derrickman
Wireline Company that brings about many of the
Fishing Company Crane Operator
problems faced on the rig.
Completion Company Floormen
Testing Company It must be understood the company Roustabouts
rep and the toolpusher work for Medic
separate companies.
Radio Operator
It must also be understood that the Welder
final cost, be it direct or indirect Drivers
will be born by the operator Truck Drivers
Catering
 In the field the drilling operation and service
personnel are supervised by the company rep.
He is the witness for the operator and will remain
with the operation from start to finish

His duties are to see that instructions sent from

the base in the form of the contract or well
program are carried out to the companies
satisfaction

It is not his duty to run the rig. Many operators over the years have attempted
to run their own drilling operation. Most have failed or found it to be somewhat
more expensive.
Logistics plays a major part in this mans work. Having equipment on site and
ready is possibly the most cost effective part of a operation.
Accurate and honest reporting is also very important. It is his report that
affects the daily running of the operation
Before writing this manual the author spent 35 years working on or around the
drilling and workover industry. He has held the position from roustabout to
Operations Manager. Worked for drilling contractors both large and small. He
also worked as a consultant for many small oil companies where he ran both the
rig and drilling operation often being the only expatriate on the work force. In
that time he spent 22 years in a senior position designing, building and running
many different types of rigs both onshore and offshore.

Of all the position within the industry the most underrated is the
job of the rig toolpusher

It is a position that shoulders most of the responsibility with out the authority.

It is often his knowledge and skills that carry the operation

He and he alone, is responsible for the rig and keeping it running.

The safety of the well and the people on site are also his responsibility. 

Once orders are passed to him from the drilling supervisor, it is his responsibility to
see they are carried out as efficiently and safely as possible.

He will check all equipment coming to the rig and report any defects to the drilling
supervisor.

He will ensure all the rig equipment is maintained and in good working order.

He will relieve or supervise the driller should there be problems with the wellbore.

He will plan and suggest a rig budget for the coming year 

He is supported by a team of: Drillers, Mechanics, Electricians and a Tourpusher

Under normal conditions a drilling crew will consist of: Assistant Driller, Derrick
man and 3 Floormen. They are backed up by a crane operator and the roustabout
crew.
Backing up the rig floor are the maintenance people . The mechanic and his
department, Electrician, Medic, Radio operator, Welder.

The conditions under which they work will vary and depend on the part of the
world the rig is operating in. Work schedules will vary with the type of rig.

As a rule, once an operation starts it is a 24 hour a day operation.

Offshore the crews will work 12 hours on and 12 hours off for periods ranging from 7
days on and 7 days off, to 28 days on and 28 days off. The living conditions would be
close to that of a local hotel.

However on land operations, conditions can very drastically and the standard of
living can range from living in a hotel or camp, to looking after yourselves.
Offshore rigs and land rigs have a lot of similarities. The rig is the drill floor and all are
designed to do the same work however they do differ in as much as the type of
equipment the may have to be used and their flexibility.
The derrick provides the necessary height
and support to lift loads in and out of the
well, and must be strong enough to support
the hook load, deadline and fast-line loads,
pipe setback and wind loads,
Although derricks come in many heights
there are only 3 standard ranges.
The drill string, when retrieved from the
wellbore, if not laid down, will be stood back
in stands.
A stand can range between 95 feet and 65
feet.
However, derricks can also be designed to
hold a single joint of 32 feet.
A small workover rig may have a single 32 ft
or double 64 ft racking area, where as a big
rig will have a 95 foot derrick rack back
capacity.
The double derrick gets it name from
the fact it is designed to stand back
stands ranging in lengths from 57 feet
to 65 feet
The average length of a joint of drill
pipe is 31.20 feet.
Such a rig will be rated to drill up to
eleven thousand feet or workover a
well as deep as 13000 feet.
Most are truck mounted for fast
moving and would have a total number
of loads not exceeding 50.
With a well trained crew, a small rig
such as this can finish a well in the
morning and be moved, rigged up and
back at work within 36 working hours.
Truck mounted rigs have both stiff and telescoping masts that are manufactured
from high strength, cold drawn, seamless, square steel tubing. Cross beams are high
strength, low alloy, angle iron for design capacity and ease of repair or replacement.

The mast capacities range from 100,000#

hookload to 440,000# hookload with
heights ranging from 70 ft under crown to
131 ft under the crown.

Many of these rigs are equipped with

heavy duty hydraulic systems capable of
providing power for hydraulic pipe tongs,
tubing and sucker rod tongs, hydraulic
rotary tables, hydraulic hand tools and
hydraulic swivels.

The hydraulic pump is driven from a power

take off the transmission, other common methods are to mount the pump below
the engine and use a belt drive. The transmission design has the advantage that it
protects the pump from dirt and grime during rig transportation and make it easy
to maintain.
Superintendents office

150’

Mix
Tank
s

Cement unit
Working over a platform Working independently
Jack ups are very versatile and easy to move. They come with two basic type of
legs. Independent leg – Mat supported

Independent leg jacking is a great advantage if for some

reason the rig has to jack up and around a platform. the
rig can be tilted by stopping the movement on any of the
legs

They also have the advantage of being able to be walked in

to a platform.

Once the rig is pinned in location the legs will be jacked

down penetrating into the sea bed.

Once on solid ground the hull will be raised from the water
until it has a small air gap.
The rig will then take on a preload of between 3 and 6000 tons. After holding the
preload and allowing the rig to settle, the load will be dumped and the hull will be
moved to needed working height. (air gap) 

Once there, the rig will be skidded out over the slot or well it will work.

A well organized operation can be driving pipe within 5 hours of dumping the
preload.  One disadvantage is the penetration each leg may get into the sea bed.

It is also possible for a leg to punch through the formation even having taken on
the full preload although this is rare. 
Mat supported rigs do not have the penetration
problem of the independent leg rigs and can sit
on soft sea beds.

However I have known them to have problems

due to cutting settling on the top of the mats.

Moving jack ups is done by towing or if a long

move it may be dry towed.

This is done by putting the rig on the back of a

special ship that submerges itself until the jack
up is in place above it, the ship the discharges it
ballast and lift the jack up out of the water.  
With the rig tied down it is now ready to be move, such a move can be
anywhere in the world and will cut days off a towing move
It is possible to have a semi and a jack up on the same barge. However many
of the rigs now being designed will not fit on the back of this barge
Designed to work in deep water

The modern Semi Submersible is a self propelled unit that is held on location by
the use of anchors. More modern types are now using dynamic position that work
for satellite navigation systems. 
The older type would use tugs to move
them.
Designed to operate in water depths
from 200 to 5000 feet. The hull is
supported by up to 8 cylindrical legs
that are mounted on pontoons.

After the rig has moved onto location

it will take on ballast and fill the ballets
tanks thus submerging the legs
between 50 and 90 feet under the
surface. 
Ballast tanks are incorporated into the base of the legs and pontoons and once
filled with water and the rig is in the semi-submerged mode it provides stability
during drilling operations.
 Moon
Rig and Derrick pool

Hull
Mean sea level Air Gap

Pontoons

Kill Lines
Water Depth
Choke Lines up to 10000 feet

The rig is
connected from
Sub Sea BOP System the BOPs to
Surface by a Sub
Sea bed sea riser
Drill Ship are for ultra deep water and have worked waters up to 10000 feet. Riser
drilling technology is used for drilling from a floating vessel. A large diameter Riser
Pipe is used to connect the rig to the Subsea BOP’s on the seabed and provide a
conduit for running the drill string to the stata below the seabed.
The Riser Pipe is a steel pipe of a diameter of approximately 50 cm, and is
equipped with attached line and floating buoyant material (partially).

The floating buoyant material acts

to reduce weight in water. This
Riser Pipe receives, in addition to
self weight, other forces such as
bending, tension or compression
caused by motion of the vessel. In
order to provide sufficient
strength against these forces,
high-tension steel will be used.
BOP is provided at the bottom end
of the Riser Pipe on seabed.

This is a safety unit that closes the borehole to prevent any fluid (liquid such as
oil or water, gas such as natural gas or hydrogen sulfide) contained in the strata
from rising up to Drill Ship through Drill Pipe or Riser Pipe when the Drill Pipe
reaches abnormally high-pressure strata.
Swamp Barges and  Submersibles

This type of rig is used in shallow water, lakes

or in swamps. The derrick will often be laid
down for moving as they will often be towed on
main rivers 

Some swamp barges have legs that will be

lowered to pin the barge in place. 
Swamp barge at work in Nigeria

The draft on such a unit is often less

than 6 feet allowing it into very
shallow water
Swamp barge on tow. Note how the
derrick is laid down this allows it to
be towed under bridges and up main
water ways
Some times the water may be too deep
for a swamp barge but does not
warrant the expense of a big offshore
rig.

For such an operation a true

submersible would be put to work.

Submersibles sit on the sea bed while

working by taking on ballast and
dumping the ballast once the operation
has been completed and they are ready
to move.

You will often see the working in lake or

at the entrance of rivers

Average water depth for working is

between 60 and 80 feet
Platforms are designed so that
many wells can be drilled from one
central point off shore.
The size of the platform varies
depending on some of the condition
that will have to be meet later.
The Ecofisk Charlie platform in
the North Sea extended to over a
mile and has two hotels platforms
adjoining it. When I worked there,
there were only 12 wells on it.
This small platform is being
worked by a jack up that has
canterlivered out the rig and would
possibly have 9 wells drilled from
it.
 This is the Hibernia Platform
Working offshore Nova Scotia.
It’s a concrete gravity platform
designed for impact resistance
From ice bergs.
Other platforms and wells from the field will be linked into one main
platform and a trunk-line laid from the platform to the oil terminal onshore
or there could be a storage terminal offshore, as in many of the Middle
Eastern countries

Hotel

Gone are the days when the boss came out for the day as now day hotels
are installed offshore. After many of the platforms have completed all
the wells, the rig will be stacked and left behind ready to workover any
wells that have problems or decrease in production.
Smedvic T-7 tender Rig

This tender is a purpose built self-erecting

drilling tender barge with a flat bottom, raked
stern and raked bow hull shape.
The Self-Erecting Tender Rig (SETR) is designed
especially as a cost efficient and very flexible
drilling system for development scenarios involved
multiple well slot, fixed offshore platforms.
Whereby the rig moves from platform to platform
using its own Drilling Equipment Set (D.E.S) which
is lifted on by its own crane.
Lifting operations can be made onto platforms up
to a height of 65 feet above mean sea level.
 Not every hole drilled will
become an oil well. Even in
a production field, the
hole may miss the target.
Small platforms allow for
marginal fields to be tied
into a main trunk-line
running from the main
b field.
a
Note well “a” and “b” they
could very well be drilled
not as production but
enhanced recovery wells.
Injection wells, To boost
production or support the
depleting formations.
It must be understood that there
are many manufactures and
different types of drilling rig,
however they are designed to do a
job.
That job is to drill holes in the
ground, not find oil.
Once understood, there is no
reason that a person can not move
from one type of rig to another
with confidents.
The pages that follow will take a
person that has never seen a rig,
and introduce them to all the
equipment they will ever need to
know.
Platform derricks are designed to maximises
the operation and/or limitations of the
installation. Many of today's Platform derricks
are designed to meet the demanding
specifications required for North Sea due to the
adverse weather condition.

With the demand for deep water drilling many

derrick accommodate a diverse range of
specifications, that can include the crown
mounted compensators, vertical pipe handling
systems and harsh motion and environmental
criteria.
Standard Derrick: is a bolted structure that must be
assembled part by part, usually used on offshore
platforms.

• Derrick installed on floating rigs are designed to

withstand extra dynamic stresses due to rolling, pitching,
heaving and stresses from wind.

• The space available between the rig floor and the crown
block must be higher to handle the wave- induced vertical
movement of the floating support.
 The jack knife type derrick is pivoted at its base and is raised or lowered by
the use of drawworks. The mast is constructed with the use of pins that join
the sections together. The stripped down structure is moved by truck load. A
big derrick would normally take 12 loads to move.

The mast on the other hand

is raised or lowered
into position by the use of
hydraulic rams and then
scoped out to its operational
height.

Here you see a small

land rig preparing to go
to work. The rig has
just moved over 300
miles and across
several rivers and is now in the heart of bandit country in the Delta state of
Nigeria where it will spend the next 5 month working over very high pressure
wells.
Sling shot rigs and now the swing rig have improved on rig move times no
end. The concept of picking up the derrick with the drawworks has been
around a long time. The swing rig goes that one step more by picking up
the complete rig package as one
 The Swing Rig design, is one of the
quickest and easiest rigs to assemble
and raise.
There are two basic types
On one the drawworks are raised after
the derrick and pined into the
substructure.

On the other, the drawworks

are left down.
This gives more room on the
rig floor for people to work.
Installing the drawwork on a land rig can be done in several fashions. On many
sling shot rigs the rig will be assembled on the ground, the drawwork section will
then be hoisted into position, Followed by the derrick then the floor section.

On other rig designs, the derrick will

be picked up first and the drawwork
follows. This will often mean the driller
having to ride up with the platform

For this to be accomplish the

substructure will have an A frame
incorporated into it

By stringing up the drill line and

block the driller will slowly raise
the derrick and providing the crown section has been installed on an A frame
the derrick should start to pick up at around 300,000 lbs.
Hook Load C.W. Height Base Racking Cap
DYNAMIC DERRICKS - Deep Water
2,000,000 170' 40x56' PRS4i
2,000,000 170' 55x60' PRS4i
Both the above to accommodate C.M.C. systems
DYNAMIC DERRICKS - Standard
2,000,000 180' 40x40' 25,000
1,400,000 170' 40x40' 20,000
1,400,000 160' 40x40' 20,000
1,300,000 185' 40x40' 24,000
1,000,000 160' 40x40' 20,000
DYNAMIC DERRICKS - With Crown Mounted Flare Stack
1,000,000 160' 40x40' 20,000
750,000 160' 40x40' 20,000
300,000 120' 20x20' 6,000
STATIC DERRICKS - Platforms and Jackups
2,000,000 190' 46x52' 36,000
1,500,000 180' 46x52' 30,000
1,300,000 170' 32x36' 36,000
1,000,000 170' 30x30' 30,000
1,000,000 170' 30x30' 26,000
1,000,000 147' 30x30' 20,000
As you can imagine, to operate the average drilling rig there would need to be a lot
of power.

Although I know of a rig that draws it power from the local community this is very
rare and would normally only exists in areas where the rig is working within the
community.
In general the rig will generate the power need from it own generators fed on fuel
supplied by the operator (oil Company). The water needed would be drawn from a
previously drilled water well or trucked to the site

In times gone by many rigs would run on steam. However nowadays there are two
basic systems

Compound - run on air and clutches

Diesel Electric with the base power coming in the form of electricity

All rigs use the air and clutch to operate many of the components. But it is the main
equipment drives that determine the rig. Such as the Rotary, Drawwork and Pumps
Ask most people what make the world go around and they will say money.
Over the years many well-known people and some not so well-known have found out the
hard way this is not quite true.
There are two common factors that will bring a mighty nation to it knees within days.

One is communications.

The other is fuel.

The rig will not run without fuel and will not keep going long with dirty or watered down
fuel.
Between the years 1993 and 2001 I worked in Nigeria. There were constant fuel
strikes and to make money the fuel would often be tampered with. The damage done to
the prime movers was incredible the cost to the operator was unbelievable as the rig
would close down due to lack of supplies.

Therefore a good covered-in fuel tank is needed, the minimum requirement is 400
bbls.
Many people believe the rig Toolpusher runs the rig. This again is not totally
true. The toolpusher supervises the running of the rig. The person that
keeps it running is the Mechanic supported by his team and the electrician.

A good Mechanic will keep a rig running no matter what. His/hers top priority
are the main engines. It dose not matter what kind of rig it is - with-out the
engines there is no power.

It is often extremely hard to explain to

people the power that a driller has at his
finger tips.
A typical modern rig will have as much power
as a small town.  Four or five main generators
and one emergency/ auxiliary generator will
supply the rig with a total of 11,275 hp
These generator are driven by powerful
engines such as the Caterpillar shown here.
If anybody ever refers to the cat's on a rig their talking about the Caterpillar prime
movers. Land-based and offshore drilling operations have long relied on Caterpillar
and it would be very hard for someone to get a new type of engine installed on a rig.

Four or five main generators and one

emergency/ auxiliary generator will supply the
rig with a total of 11,275 hp.
 

Five Caterpillar generators model 3516B

electronically control at 1,200 rpm, diesel
engines driving 600 volt, 60 hertz, 2,150 KVA,
model SR 4 generators

One stand by generator will have, in addition

to its emergency functions, significant
power to the SCR system in the event the main power system fails, thereby
enabling the driller to circulate mud or pull the drill string into the casing. The
emergency system’s large capacity enables it to simultaneously power all of the rig
lighting, cranes, air compressors, bilge and fire fighting systems, and miscellaneous
AC loads.
The power generated from the
generators is distributed around the rig.
Some rigs draw the power from one
source by selecting just the equipment
needed to be run.

Others have pre-set selection that are

controlled from a central unit such as a
Silicone Controlled Rectifier (SCR) it is
possible using the SCR system to be
running several items from the same
generator at the same time.

This is the inside of the SCR trailer

from the last rig I worked. Most of the
morning meetings were held in here as it
was the only part of the rig where the air
conditioning worked as it should have.
To get the power needed the driller
would normally call down to the engine
room and tell them what the
operations for the day will be. The
mechanic and electrician will then
assign the SCR the driller will need to
the board.

The drawing of the system flow of

the power starting at the prime
mover (Diesel Generator) As you can
see the generator will send the power
through the system ending up at the
motor that will drive a said peace of
equipment.

Rigs use both AC and DC power. The AC

The DC motor, usually a 752 horse power system runs the lighting and suchlike.
power motor, will the power the The DC power system runs the machinery,
machinery. drawworks, mud pumps, rotary etc.
This hoisting system starts at the
dead line anchored point and
finishes at the drawworks.

The wire line used is threaded up

and over the crown block, back
down and to the travelling block,
back up to the crown block, then
down to the drawworks that has a
rotating drum and is the winch
that pull or runs the pipe to or
from the hole .

The drawworks main drum stores

the excess used line as the string
is raised or lowered .
The drawwork is a winch and is part of the hoisting system. It can also be used to
drive the rotary. The one you see here is a National Oilwell 1625 DE with an input
horse power of 3000 (2238Kw) and is rated at drilling depths from 16000 ft
(4877m) to 25000 ft (7620m).

It is driven by 2 or 3 electric
DC motors that offers four
hoisting speeds and two rotary
speeds. This model uses a 42
in. double plate clutch for low
drum drive and a 46 in. x 10 in.
Dy-A-Flex air clutch for high
drum drive. The clutches drive
a 36 in. dia. x 61 1 /4 in.
integral, spiralled, two- step
grooving long main drum.

Older modules were furnished with the standard band brake system that are now
being replaced with a hydraulically controlled disc brake system. Disc brakes
provide improved performance over conventional band brakes
The drillers has a control panel that is mounted along side him enabling him to
have full control over the equipment around the rig. By assigning electric power
via different SCR’s to various equipment.

He can also control the amount of power

being used on the equipment.
This is a very important point as he can
set equipment up to pull or stall at a
given power making it an excellent
safety factor.

Unfortunately not every one understands the power they are controlling and
accident can still happen. 
The cathead is a shaft with a lifting head that extends on either side of the
drawworks and has two major functions.

It is used in making up and

breaking out tool joints in
the drill string.

It is also used as a hoisting

device for heavy equipment
on the drill floor

This is done by wrapping the

cat-line (cat-line is generally
made of rope and is connected Make up cat head use when
to a piece of chain used to tie running in the hole to make up
on to equipment) around the lifting head. the tools.
The number of turns of rope on the head and the tension provided by the operator
controls the force of the pull.
The break out cat head:
Use for breaking the Free
tool joint when the Nuts
string is pulled from the
hole. This cat head is
more powerful than the
make up cat head.
The jerk line is attached
to the cat-head and brazing
break-out tong.
Two tongs are used to
Wire Rope
break the tool joint the
break out tong will
always go on top unless
The jerk line is fitted to the cat-head, the best way
breaking out the
to do this is to make a slip noose on the sling that
connections above the
fits over the lug on the cat-head.
kelly.
This is best done by brazing two nuts together and
Most connections above
passing the line thought both and brazing one end to
the kelly are left hand
the nut allowing the other part of the wire to slide
thread.
The distance from the drum to the first sheave of the
system is the controlling factor in the fleet angle.

A winch is most effective when the pull is exerted on the

bare drum of the winch.

When a winch is rated at a capacity, that rating applies only

as the first layer of cable is wound onto the drum.

The winch capacity is reduced as each layer of cable is wound

onto the drum because of the change in leverage resulting
from the increased diameter of the drum.

The capacity of the winch may be reduced by as much as 50

percent when the last layer is being wound onto the drum.
The drum of the winch is placed so that a line from the last
block passing through the centre of the drum is at right angles
to the axis of the drum.
The angle between this line and the hoisting line as it winds on
the drum is called the fleet angle.
As the hoisting line is wound in on the drum, it moves from one
flange to the other, so that the fleet angle changes during the
hoisting process.
The fleet angle should not be permitted to exceed 2 degrees and
should be kept below this, if possible.
A 1 1/2-degree maximum angle is satisfactory and will be
obtained if the distance from the drum to the first sheave is 40
inches for each inch from the centre of the drum to the flange.
The wider the drum of the hoist the greater the lead distance
must be between the winch and the
first sheave.
As mentioned before, in the old days a drilling
contractor would have purchased only enough rotary
drilling line to string up his reefing system.

Depending upon the height of his derrick and the

number of parts of line to be used, lengths would vary
from 650 to 1,750 feet

Today, purchasing longer lengths of drilling line,

and periodically slipping new rope into the system
while cutting off old line at the drum end, shifts
the rope through the critical wear areas and
distributes the wear more uniformly along the
length of the rope.

Wire line, chains, pulleys, turnbuckle bulldog clamps, rope and sockets are use
continually in the industry and have in the past be a major cause of accidents.
Even with the stringent safety rule of to-day they are still a major cause of
accident
Often when new drill line arrives at
location it will be transferred to a
automatic spooler before being
strung up.

The spooler has the advantage in

that when cutting and slipping
the drill line you will only need one
person to control the line feed
speed.

Line spoolers are driven by air or

hydraulics and have a braking
system.

Where they really come into there

own is on land operations when
stringing back. One person runs the drum, the rest of the crew can keep the wire
from laying on the ground picking up dirt.
The sand line is a small line incorporated into the back
of the drawworks system. The line is generally used
for running surveys or fishing for lost surveys. These
units are usually integral parts of the drawworks.

The sand line will often be used as a hanging line for

tools. However all precautions must be taken when
using it this way as when the drawworks is running fast
the cat heads are spinning very fast.

The best way to use the sand line to hang off tools is
to shut down the drawwork and put in the clutch then
start the Drawworks and use the hand throttle to
adjust the speed

Sand lines are 6x7 EIPS fibre core construction which makes a strong and flexible
combination. Available in 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 9/16" and 5/8" diameters.
 Take a trip around any warehouse or yard and you will
find several drums of wire line, ask why they are
there. The normal answer will be, they were here when
I came.
Such warehouses are often full of wrong orders.

Measuring line is a simple procedure that is best

done by using a clapper Correct
Incorrect of some description. If your
unsure of how to read it have
your Mechanic do it

Care must be taken not to measure across the flat

between adjacent strands.

In accordance with industry standards, all new rope has a

plus tolerance of approximately five percent, so a new
one inch rope may measure from 1.000" to 1.050".
Wire is often damaged due to incorrect transferring from drum to drum.
Which of the methods is the right way?

Correct Incorrect

Wraps of wire rope should not overlap when wound on the drum of a winch but should
be wrapped in smooth layers. Overlapping will result in binding, causing snatches on
the line when the rope is unwound.
To produce smooth layers, start the rope against one flange of the drum and keep
tension on the line while winding. Start the rope against the right or left flange as
necessary to match the direction of winding.
 The more layer of wire
on a drum the less
efficient the wire
becomes.
Over laying a wire can
severely damage and
lessen the strength of
Correct the wire incorrect
Often if the electric brake is not set in accordance with the manufactures
recommendation, when applied when running the block up to pick up a stand
of drill pipe on trips the block will stop dead. This will jump the wire and
over lay the drill line. If not noticed and the string is picked up it will
severely damage the line. The electrician should set the controlling current
so as the control liver applies the current in increments. The same will
happen if the fleet angel is to high or the wire line guide is not installed in
the derrick.
There are two recognised cable cutters in the industry.
I say two, but if we count the cutting torch it will make
three.
The hammer blow cutter uses a cutting blade that is
held in the punch and cut the cable after x amount of
blows with a sledge hammer.

The hydraulic cutter is a little easier

to use. You lay the wire in the clamp
close and secure the latch than use
the hand pump to pump out the cutting
blade.
It is virtually impossible to calculate the precise length of wire rope that
can be spooled on a reel or drum, the following formula provides a
sufficiently close approximation.

The formula is: L = ( D+E ) * D * B * K

B L = length of rope to fit Drum (ft.)

A = diameter of reel flanges (inches)
B = width of drum between flanges (inches)
E A C = clearance
D = depth of rope space on drum (inches)
E = drum barrel diameter (inches)
D K = constant for given rope diameter

C Find K on the next page or use the

Wire line drum calculator

Wire line drum calculator Basic Windows Calculator

The A Frame is the upper most part of
the derrick. It is designed to support the
weight of the crown block. And is used
for any maintenance that might be needed
up in the derrick such as changing a
sheave.

It is also use for lowering the crown from

the derrick.

Rigs that use a hoist type derrick would

not normally have an a-frame as any work
needed would be done when the hoist is in
the horizontal position once it is laid down.
Top section of the derrick

At the very top is a flashing red light.

Often the rig antenna will be mounted on
the top along side the light
The water table support the walk-a-
round, the crown block and a-frame
above it.

Below will be the tong pad eyes and a

pad eye to hang off any sheaves that
may be needed such as the free point
indicator sheave if the string gets
stuck and wire line is run to back off
the pipe.

Also below will be two 12 * 12 block of

wood held in place by brackets. They
are about three feet long and are to
protect the block and crown should
the person running the rig forget to
stop
The water table is mounted on the
top section of the derrick and held
in place by bolts
Originally when a derrick had to 'built' at
every location, the water table was used
to check if the derrick was level,

By looking at the water level in a wide,

shallow tray (bucket, basin, whatever)

and using a plumb bob,

The derrick could be check for line up and

that it was centred over the well and that
the crown block was level so that there
would be no side loading or wear on the
crown sheaves and drill line.

The method of using water to find the

true level is still used in many parts of the
world and is often used when levelling of

Crown blocks range from 100 tonne
through to 1000 tonne capacity and
are available in a full range of sizes
from 24" through to 72"
The crown block consisted of a frame
that supports series of sheaves (7)
that make up the top section of the
block and tackle use the move the
drill string or tools being run in and
out of the wellbore
It sits on the water table and is held
on place by guide and bolts.
The drill line is strung up starting
from the spare drum a round the dead
line anchor. Up to the crown block.
Back down to the traveling block (X)
number of times, back over the last
crown block sheave before going back
down to the rig floor where it is
install and secured to the fast drum
on the drawworks
The block and tackle which is rigged
with the crown block by multiples of
drilling line strung between the crown
block and the traveling block.

A cluster of sheaves
taken from a national
Oil Well Block.
Changing the sheaves
up on the crown is not
the best place to have
to work, but it
happens.
The hook is located beneath the traveling block.
This device is used to pick up and secure the
swivel and kelly.

The hook is designed in such away that it will

allow the string to rotate while at the same time
holding the travelling block steady so as not spin
all the line as the block is moving. But it can be
lock into a given position for the drilling mode.

The second major function is to relieve some of

the shock when a load is picked up.

By allowing the hook to open under control whilst This is a Varco BJ Dynaplex
picking up the driller can creep into the load, hook and they come with lifting
thus saving a lot of ware and tear on the drilling capacity's between 350 and
line and the sheave bearings. 1000 tons
Lifting tools include the bails ( Links) and the
elevators.

These are often classed as drilling tools but

they are part of the hoisting system and must
be treated with the same respect as you would
other more obvious parts.

The links fit onto the lugs of the hook and

elevators. Once in position the flaps are
closer and locked using a bolt.

They should be inspected along with the drill

string
It is imperative that top drive users
exercise care and caution when using a top
drive during and after a jarring operation.

Due to the changing parameters of jarring

operations (depth of hole, drill string, free
point, type of jars, etc.), it is impossible to
establish firm limits or guidelines for
jarring with the top drive.

Every situation will have to be evaluated

on individual merits with due consideration
of the costs of abandoning a well.
After any jarring operation the top drive
should be thoroughly inspected according
to the following guidelines:

Perform a thorough visual examination of

the top drive looking for any signs of
damage.

Visually inspect the mud inlet piping.

Check all wire locked bolts for damage or

broken wires. If broken wires are
detected, re-torque the bolts, and re-
wire. Replace damaged wires.
Check all external bolts and nuts that are
not wired for tightness. Any bolts found to
be loose should be removed, coated with
Loctite 242 thread locker, reinstalled and
re-torque according to the specifications in
the manual

Check all guards, vents and covers for

tightness. Ensure that all safety cables are
properly and securely attached.

Visually examine the inside of the junction

box(s) for loose components.

Open the motor brush access covers and

check that all bolts are tight and all brushes
are correctly positioned. Also ensure that
the condensation heater is secure.
Check that all electrical plugs are properly engaged and secured.

Check the seals at the bottom of the rotary manifold to ensure they are properly
in place..4.

The top drive hoisting load path is designed according to API Specification 8C; it
can be treated in much the same manner as any API hoisting equipment.

The main difference is that the top drive has many accessories bolted on; these
should be checked for loose bolts, etc. as described above.

Jarring operations can be done with the load connected through either the quill
shaft or the elevators.
The final components that go to make are the
hoisting assembly are the lifting elevators. There
are many types of elevators how ever they can be
classes into two  categories.

Centre Latch: These are mostly used for drill pipe

and have protruding handles.

Side door: mainly used for casing and drill collars. 

The opening handle is more flush with the body. 

Not all elevator are design to lift the string some

are designed to pick up just one joint. 

Always check the Safe Working Load (SWL) of any set of elevators before using
them. If possible check any later data posted about elevator from the latest Safety
bulletins as over the years some have been down graded.
The drillers weight
indicator is used to
monitor string
weight, overpull
and set down loads.
Like so many tools
on the driller
console it talks.
Listen too it and
understand what it
is saying.

How it works
 Anchor Point:

This is a fixed position in one

corner of the rig floor and would
normally be on the other side of
the rig floor from the draw-
works.

This is done to help distribute

the load being moved.

The dead line base is bolted to

the main substructure by 4*3
inc bolts
The unused drill line that is stored on the drum is past around the dead line
anchor before being strung up.

Incorporated into the dead line is the load sensor that operates the weight
indicator on the drillers console. 
Crown Block Safety System is
used to prevent the collision of
the travelling block with the crown Toggle
block.

This system senses when the

travelling block is within a preset
distance of the crown block. This Operating
is done using the spooling drill line Cylinder
that connects with the toggle
allowing air to operate the piston
in the air cylinder

It then disengages the clutch,

then simultaneously applies the
brakes to the drawworks.

This device is critical to the

safety of rig personnel.
Air inlet
Crown-O-Matic's and crown savers are designed to
provide crown and floor protection by ensuring that
the rig's braking system can stop the block before
the draw work's brake is overrun.

Derrick designs generally incorporate extra space at the crown area to allow for
safer operation of the travelling block in an area that is hard for the driller to see,
and also to allow for potential travelling block overrun of the upper mechanical stop
caused by high block ascending speeds near the crown.

Fitting portable top-drives to rigs reduces this extra space increasing the
possibility of the travelling block impacting the crown.

By installing and setting up the crown-o-matic properly, safe operation of the

travelling block is maintained to the maximum upper block travel limit.
In generally the drawworks will have two braking
systems; The brake as most driller will refer to it is a
manual braking system that incorporate a handle that
is attached to a set of brake bands that have a
number of brake pads attached. When applying
weight to the brake lever the bands are tightened
around the brake flange attached to the drawworks
main drum and the load is slowed down and will
eventually stop.
As the well gets deeper so the string weight will
increase. As the string weight ingresses so will the
speed of acceleration as the block and string is
lowered.
As with a car, the faster it is move the longer it
takes to bring it to a halt. If the load moving is
so heavy, it will not stop.

The heat generated by the friction of the two contacting surfaces will lift the
handle so high, the driller will lose control. Therefore and
auxiliary braking system is installed. It can be one of two systems. Hydromatic
or electromagnetic.
The Hydromatic Brake is a hydrodynamic
device that absorbs power by converting
mechanical energy into heat in its working
fluid, which is normally water.

Resistance is created exclusively by fluid

friction and agitation of the fluid circulated
between the vaned pockets of the rotor and
stator elements with the conversion of
mechanical energy to heat taking place
directly within the fluid itself.

The amount of mechanical energy that can be

absorbed in this manner is dependent upon
the quantity and velocity of the fluid in the
working chamber.
It will be readily seen that with any specific quantity of fluid in the working
chamber, the velocity of the fluid will be increased with increased revolving
speed of the rotor.

In this manner the horsepower capacity of the brake increases approximately

in proportion to the cube of the speed; if the speed is doubled, the
horsepower resistance is increased eight times.

The hydraulic horsepower capacity increases at this rate to the maximum

operating speed of the brake.

It should be noted, however, that other limitations such as shaft diameter

and fluid flow capacity may be the limiting factor instead of speed.
Cooling Fluid circulating system.
All the driller has
The lay out can be different in so much as the fluid to do is open
tank can be closer to the driller and close Valves
The electromagnetic type braking is provided by two opposing magnetic fields. The
magnitude of the magnetic fields is dependent on the speed of rotation and the
amount of external excitation current supplied.

In both types of auxiliary braking systems, the heat development must be

dissipated using a liquid cooling system.

An excellent braking system if set up properly. Unfortunately there seams to be

very few rig that have it set up the right way.

It is designed is such a manner that hand adjustment should apply the power at
the rate the driller move it allowing the block to come to a controlled stop.

It is possible to run the rig the complete round trip without applying the main
brake if this one is set up properly
The work string starts at the swivel or the circulating point and end at the tool
being run to do the job.

This can consist of many combinations but would normally come under one of four
headings.

Drill string - used to drill the well

Workover string - this include many tools.

Casing string - run to protect the open hole.

Completion string - run to produce from a well.

All can be broken down into a variety of sub strings.

Modern day drilling operation employ a Top Drive or Power sub to rotate the
drill string.

However it will be many years if ever before all drilling rig use a top drive and
many will finish the time still using the conventional equipment.

Although many companies manufacture equipment for the industry, most rig
floors are designed in a similar fashion. All have the same job to do.

Therefore the equipment will be basically the same, most variations are
installed not to improve on performance but to get around copyrights.
Kelly hose.
The kelly hose, visible in
the lower right of the
photograph, connects from
the standpipe to the swivel
thus allowing the drilling
fluid to circulate while
drilling.

This high pressure hose

moves up and down every
time the pipe is moved and
needs to be pressure
tested at the same time as
the BOP’s.
 Travelling
Block

Hook
assembly
The upper kelly assembly is
unique in the fact that all the
threads are cut to the left. Gooses Neck &
Bail and wash pipe
This is some times forgotten Elevators
and drillers have spent hours
when attempting to break the Swivel
subs and tools from between
the swivel and kelly.
Kelly
The double pin sub is often a Spinner
second cause for concern. As
well as being left hand it often Upper 65 ft kelly
has two different types of BOP Hose
thread. Normally the pin facing
Double
up is regular and the pin facing
pin Sub
down will match the thread on
the drill pipe. Stand Pipe Manifold
Kelly coming from Rig Pumps
The swivel is a clever piece of engineering
that has changed very little from the
time it was first designed.

It is the point of entry where the drilling

fluid that is being pumped under pressure
goes inside the drill string while the drill
string is rotating while the hook holds the
weight of the drillstring that has not
been applied to the bit.

It is connected directly to the hook while

in the drilling or circulating mode but
taken off and set back while pulling the
string from the well bore.
 The prime purpose of the Kelly Spinners is
to make fast connections as the hole is
drilled. The kelly is drilled down 32 feet and
then replaced by a single joint of drill pipe.
It can be also be used  for  rotating drill pipe
slowly, and for limited rathole and mouse
hole drilling

These units are completely reversible; and

can spin out, as well spin in, when making
connections, therefore replacing the need for
a spinning chain.
Installation is relatively simple, they are made up below the swivel similar to
a routine sub installation and above the kelly cock (upper BOP) the two torque
arresting chains are attached to the bumper block, Once installed in the
string the air supply hoses are connected up. The tool joint threads, are 6
5/8" in. API regular left hand.
This is a Safe and fastest means of making
connections with a make-up speed in as little
as 5 seconds

It bolted to bottom of swivel -always in

position for use yet out of the way very handy
if you do not have the space between the crown
and rig floor.

Available with Air or Hydraulic motors suitable

for rig's power system
It is very similar to a power tong and can be equipped with a reversing out or
double acting jaws allowing right and left hand rotation. They are also very
powerful and have no problem drilling the rat or mouse hole.

The controls are situated at the drillers console.

The upper kelly valve is also referred to as the upper BOP. It is installed
directly below the kelly spinner and is last of the components to have a left
hand thread .

The first upper kelly valve came into being in

1947. A company by the name of OMSCO set
the standard by designing a flapper-type
upper kelly valves. This has proven to be
dependable and has remained virtually
unchanged.
The valve must be manually closed. It can be
partially opened by starting up the mud pumps,
but must be fully opened manually to prevent
mud cutting.
Other types of valve include the Hydrill and
Itag straight body valve.
Safety valves located above and/or below the kelly.

These valves are of a ball type and must be manually

operated. Their primary purpose is to prevent flow up
the drill string in case of emergencies.

A third kelly cock is generally kept on the drill floor

to be used in the drill string in the event flow up the
drill string occurs while making a connection or
tripping pipe.

It must be understood that the valve has to have the

same OD as the connections in the string just incase
it is needed for stripping into the well while the well is
under pressure.

3 to 5 Day
There are basically two types of pump in
sub. Top entry and side entry. For
testing the BOP I like to use the side
entry with the inside BOP “Ball Valve
Type” on top with the Grey type on top
of that. This allows you to test the valve Side entry pump in
at the same time as you test the BOP. It sub with butt weld
also allows you to test the rest of the unions
kelly using the test plug and rams. As a
rule this will save over an hour on the
standard test.
There are two type of kelly, square or
hexagonal. They are  precision machined 
of the finest steel.

Although slowly being replaced by power

swivels (Top Drives) many companies still
maintain the kelly as a back up unit.

They have been tried and tested for over

70 years and if treated with respect will
last for many years.

The shape of the kelly makes it the drive

cog for the drill string and it is driven by
the rotary drive bushing.
 Square Kelly

The Kelly is the part of the drill string that allows a round pipe to be
turned at great speed and also allow the spring to be picked up and
down while still rotating.

It will also carry the complete string weight under tension. Therefore
all kellys are made of fully heat treated alloy steel and have a Brinell
hardness range of 285-341 and a minimum average Charpy impact value
of 40 ft-lbs.

Before leaving the manufacture they are inspected and sealed into
their scabbard.

All kellys are shipped in a protective steel casing scabbard..

Hexagonal Kelly
Drive bushings transfer the rotary power to the drill string so that it
can be turned.
They are installed on the kelly allowing the kelly to be raised and
lowered while at the same time rotating the drill string.
There are two types of drives
The Drive Pin: This has four pins protruding from underneath that fit
into the rotary master Drive bushing.
The square fit. For this type directly into the drive bushing that have
been designed to accept the kelly bushing
As one can imagine the kelly is an extremely expensive piece of
equipment and will be doing much of the work throughout the
drilling of the well. It therefore needs to be protected.

Installed directly below the kelly is the kelly saver sub. The
sub protects the base of the kelly from rubbing against the
bell nipple and BOP. Thus protecting the inside of the BOPs.

Below the kelly saver sub is a valve, the lower kelly BOP. This is
a ball valve that is manually operated and can be closed in order
to remove the kelly should the string need to be striped back to
bottom. This valve must have the same OD as the Tool Joints
on the drill pipe.

The final sub that make up the kelly is the throw away thread
protector sub. This is a small sub is used to protect the lower
BOP threads on connection. It is a very important sub.
If it gets damaged and the threads are bad it can damage the
complete string of drill pipe as it is made up to all joints at
some point while drilling the well.
 Box

Drill pipe is used to extend the depth of the well. Although there are
many grades, weights and sizes, there are only 3 lengths ranges.
A joint of pipe can be broken down into 3 sections.

The Box. Connection

The Tube “Body”
Yield Strength Maximum
The Pin Connection. Grade Tube
Min Max Tensile
psi psi Strength psi
There are two sides
D 55000 -------- 95000 OD
Outside “ Diameter “ (OD)
E 75000 10500 100000
Taken from the Tubing
X95 95000 125000 105000
Inside “ Diameter “ (ID)
Taken from inside the pin G-105 105000 135000 115000
S-135 135000 165000 145000

All we need now is the grade. We then have most of the information Pin
needed to design the drill string

ID
There are three basic calculation that a driller will need to know

Capacity:
Formula: ID2/1029=bbl/ft

Displacement:
Formula:= Pipe adjusted weight/2745

Maximum Pull
Formula:= OD2-ID2*.7854* Minimum Tensile Strength psi

Drill pipe adjusted weight can be found in most service company manuals or in
courses Rig Components for Supervisors. This is a five day course that deal with
many of the drilling techniques and calculations for senior personal
 The drill string starts at
the swivel and finishes
at the bit.
The drill pipe is the
component that is used
to extend the depth of
the well.
The normal length of a
joint of pipe is 31.00 ft.
however some rig use 45
ft joints.

The person running the rig "The Toolpusher" is himself running a business, a
business designed to make money. He presides over many departments and is
responsible in see that all are run in a professional manner. Before a rig is to
be put to work, a plan should be made and carried out. This must include the
inspection of the drillstring and drilling components.  This section will
introduce you to the drill string from the kelly down and will include some of
the tools use to drill a well.
Hevi-Wate Drill Pipe (HWDP) differs from normal drill pipe in as
much as it weights a lot more. It is used for many reason.

Thick-walled heavy drill pipe is used in lieu of drill collars. It is

generally used in high-angled well where too many drill collars hamper
drilling operations.
To help keep tension on the drill pipe while drilling.
Keeps the transition zone out of the drill pipe.
Flexibility are just a few of the uses.
HWDP can be recognised by the oversized centre and the amount of
hard banding that is on the tool joints.
HWDP can be ordered in two ranges

Range 2
Range 3
OD range from 3 1/2 “ to 5”
 OD

Used to supply the weight needed to drill the hole. Also Fish Neck
used to keep the drill pipe in tension.

Elevator
recess.
There are many weight and sizes of drill collars They Length
can be slick or spiralled. Slip
Recess
Spiralled drill Collars are use to keep the hole to pipe
contact to a minimum and assist in stopping hole
problems such as differential sticking

Spiral Drill Collar Body

Slick Drill Collar Body

 The near bit stabiliser
is also used to help with
directional control.
But its main purpose is
Stabilisers
to centralise the bit
are used to
prolonging the working
control the direction
life.
of the wellbore

String Stabilisers are

designed to assist in directional control
By adjusting the size and position
of the stabiliser the bit can be made
to drop, build or hold angle.
They also help to hold the drill collar a way from
the walls of the wellbore lessening the possibility
of wall contact and the BHA getting stuck.
Extended reach drilling has lead to many improvements within the industry.

Many of the service companies have invested millions of dollars in research to

improve tool that we use every day. Many of to-day Jars are both oil and
mechanically operated

The Jar is used to free stuck drill strings or to recover stuck drill string
components during drilling or workover operations.

Many jars have both an up and down impact that are variable from light to
extra-heavy depending on the overpull applied.

There are two types of jar. Oil operated and Mechanically operated.

Jars are used in vertical, directional and horizontal holes, and are also used
in fishing, coring, testing, casing swaging and other downhole operations.
 Jar OD. inc.mm

Rig-Site information Sheet

Fish Neck Length inc/mm

When a set of jars arrive at the

location they normally have a OD and length of
transfer and work form with Mandrill inc.mm
them. This is a good time to get
to know your jars and work out
where to place them and how Jar serial no
they work.

It is both the drillers and
supervisors responsibility to
understand the working of the
jars at the location.
Depth in FT / M
Jar re-latches from open at: LB/DAN
Jar re-latches from closed at: LB/DAN

Jar smallest ID inc. mm

(this may not be at the pin
Jar or box)
length Ft.
mm
Not all jars are quite the same. The SLEDGEHAMMER Jar (Sperry Sun) is an
HYDRAULIC UP-MECHANICAL DOWN jar.

Where the Daily Mechanical Jar can be adjusted from surface. Other jars have a
pre set detent.

NOTE When the jar has been fired and before it is re cocked, the jar’s free
stroke can be used to establish an accurate measurement of frictional drag acting
on the free portion of the drillstring.
Jars are run for protection and should always be installed at least
30 feet above the largest outer diameter tool in the string and
never below a tool that has a larger outside diameter.

Using the oil type, the driller can control the jarring direction,
impact intensity and jarring times from the rig floor.

The operation of the tool is not affected by downhole torque so

that the orientation of directional drilling tools is unchanged by
jarring operations.

The mechanically operated jars is normally a preset jar, set to fire

at a given overpull.

However there are some that can be adjusted from the surface by
the driller by applying left or right hand torque
Purpose
Enhances impact up and down jarring.
Provides stretch for short strings.
Directs shock waves towards fish.
Concentrates energy at the jar.
Absorbs damaging shock waves.

Application
Horizontal drilling
Shallow drilling
High drag or dog legs
Severe sticking problems

Operation
Double acting
Drilling or fishing
Place 15% of overpull between Accelerator
and Jar.
A joint in the drilling string located above the bit to absorb and
prevent any vibrations from affecting the drill bit (same functions as a
shock absorber).

The bumper sub is a downhole shock absorber. It operates as a slip

joint.

Most bumper subs have a 3-5 feet stroke and can be run in tandem for
motion exceeding 3-5 feet.

The bumper sub is used on floating operations to reduce the heaving

motion of drill ships or semi-submersibles on the bits.

A disadvantage of the bumper sub is maintenance costs both for the

tool itself and lost time due to tripping pipe when one fails.
Furthermore, the position of the bumper sub is not ever really known
while drilling operations are being carried out, so its effectiveness can
be limited.
Under-reamers are designed primarily to under-ream below casing
to provide adequate clearance and cementing space for running
small clearance consecutive strings of intermediate casings.

Before running this tool a thorough check should be made of the

arms and cutter blade. Rough drilling and bouncing will tear off the
arms if they are not secure. Using a bit and stabiliser will assist in
keeping the reamer on course, an expanding stabiliser should be
installed above.
If you are only opening a short section of hole, space out some
stabilisers in the old hole section. They will help to centre the
cutters.

Once at the point of interest. Start your pumps while rotating the
string slowly between 20 and 40 rpm. This will allow the blades to
open fully and will be noted at surface when the rotary torque drops
off.
With the cutter now out, open up about 10 ft of hole or what is
needed to extend the stabiliser blades before extending the
blades. With the pumps still running, stop rotating, pick up the
string then go back and tag the ledge.
Often when a rig is going to drill top hole in an area
suspected of having shallow gas, the operator will
drill a pilot hole.
This pilot hole will be much smaller than the hole
needed later to accept the conductor pipe.
If the section of hole proved to be safe, it will be
opened up to the full OD.
For this you would need a hole opener. Such a tool
will have fixed or replaceable arms and is guided by a
pilot bit or mill.
The tool is made up on the bottom of the bottom
hole assembly usually with a near bit stabiliser
installed directly above.
The development of drilling bit has played a major role in the way the
petroleum industry have drilled to produce energy.

In the early days of rotary

drilling drag bit, "fish tail"
bits were the main technique
involving cable tool rigs.
In 1909 Howard Hughes Snr
introduced the world's first
rotary rock bit equipped with
two rolling cone cutters.
This bit radically change
rotary drilling by making it
possible to penetrate harder
formations.

Hughes also established the first research laboratory to study rock bit
performance in 1910 and in 1917 introduced a reaming cone bit with two
regular cones in addition to a reamer built into the body of the bit.
During the planning stage, the Drilling Engineer makes a thorough review
of offset well data and record bit performance and bit grading
characteristics.
All occurrence of gauge wear and the tooth dulling characteristics should
be noted. This will help determine the bit type suitability for the
formation drilled, i.e., for insert bits whether the inserts were worn or
broken etc.
Data required for the correct bit selection include the following:

1. Prognosed lithology column

2. Drilling fluid details
3. Well profile.
LONG TOOTH
Long Tooth (Milled) Bits produce a hole by
shearing the formation, and are mainly used
on surface hole. Good fast drilling bit but
are limited by the hardness and
shearability of the formation being drilled.

They work extremely efficiently in plastic

clays and soft rock formations such as
chalk and cemented sands, provided
sufficient flushing is available to lift large
cuttings and prevent the bit from "Balling".

Graphics Courtesy Reed Bits

 Proven cutter
technology for
increased
Tapered Shaped penetration &
Cutter technology directional control
provides for increased Fixed or
responsiveness and interchangeable
directional control nozzle systems for
improved
Junk slot design hydraulics
allows for better
cleaning

Spiral gage pads

improve cutting ability
Flat profile, short shank while reducing whirl
length & other low torque
features maximize
steerability
Diamond Bits are used for hard
formation and coring

Core Bit

Diamonds are impregnated

into the outer body then Close up of core bit
heat treated
Nozzle size plays an important role in bit hydraulics. The benefits of correct
selection include improved bottom hole cleaning, reduced risk of bit balling,
faster ROP and lower drilling cost.

Shrouded nozzles provide maximum protection against snap

ring erosion due to abrasive fluids, excessive turbulence or
extended drilling hours.

Standard jet nozzles are easier to install and recommended

for situations where erosion is not a problem.

Orifice sizes are stated in 1/32 increment. The nozzle code

indicates the diameter of the jet socket and nozzle O.D

In conventional bits, the flow stream strikes the bottom or bottom corner of the
hole. The fluid then disperses radically 360 degrees. Some fluid flows under the
cutters to remove cuttings, but most of the fluid flow is directed toward the
centre and toward the whole wall without passing under the cutters.

That fluid returns up the annulus without assisting the process of chip formation
or removal of cuttings from the wellbore.
The rotary table is the driving force behind any drilling operation. Up until
recently the rotary was fixed at the rig floor and it is the component that
drives the drillstring. Now day modem rig have power sub  "Top Drive" that
have incorporated the rotary into them.

But there are still more rigs running

rotary's than top power subs, as
many of to-days hole are drilled with
down hole motors the rotary still
plays an important part. Because it
is a tried and tested method very
few drilling contractors are
prepared to remove it from the rig
equipment list and keep it as a stand
by even if the rig has a power sub. 

The rotary table itself is a very simple design and has changed little over the
years. Some rotary's can be driven from the main drawworks by changing the
drive sprocket and incorporating a chain.
Charts are the most useful of all tools as
they maintain and record the drilling
trends over time. A quick backwards
glance at the past will soon put you on
track.
The Mud logger will have them and there
should be a recorder in the drillers dog
house. Use them.
For sudden and immediate changes the
Amp meter or rotary torque gauge on the
rig floor are used. The amp meter being
the most accurate.
But for people use to a rotary and kelly A little past it’s prime “like myself” the
the change in sound will be the first rotary torque gauge is still one of the most
indication of pending high torque . useful tools in assisting the driller to
determine hole problems
Fitted into the master bushing are a set of smaller bushings they are known
as Insert Bowls, they are in two half's and can be removed independently.
They come in several sizes Size 1, 2, 3. and it is the combination of master
bushing, insert bowls and  pipe slips that allow the rig to run the different
size pipe.
Insert Bowls 1 allow pipe size from 13 5/8 to 11 1/4
Insert Bowls 2 allow pipe size from 10 3/4 to 9 1/2
Insert Bowls 3 allow pipe size from 8 1/2 down
The important factor to remember is the split bushing
must match the casing or drill pipe slip. It is possible to
run the wrong slips and bushing however should you ever
rock the pipe and it starts to move you can say good by to
the pipe along with your job.

Here we see the insert bowl being removed from the master bushing with
the use of the bushing pullers. They are picked out using the rig floor air
hoist as each segment can range with the region from 185 to 336 lbs.
Pulling the inserts by hand has been a major cause of back injury form many
years 
The table itself is design so that it can be adapted to hold different sizes of
pipe and will come as different size rotary's, they range from 48 in. on a big rig
to 17 1/2 inc. on a small rig.
The size is the maximum pipe size that can go through the rotary, however any
pipe below the rated size can be held in the rotary this is done by changing the
combination of bushing and slips that will hold the pipe.

The rotary itself is fixed and contains an assortment

of drive cogs and bearing that in turn drive the main
rotary. As a main drive has to be round there needs
to be a cog that will fit inside the round drive that
will not spin while the rotary is turning. This is known
as the master bushing and it is rectangular in shape. 

The master bushing has is designed so that it can be pulled out of the rotary
opened up and taken from around the pipe or tool that is being lowered into
the well. To do this a 4in. pin has to be removed and the master bushing
opened up from one side.
For pipe sizes larger the 13 5/8 in. you would have to remove the master
bushing and insert bowls that are designed for that particular size pipe,
such as 20 in.

Again you must use the right slips. It is not

impossible to drop the big pipe in the hole by
accident as an up and coming driller

I dropped a short string of 20 in. pipe in the

hole when the casing elevator hooked under
the collar. It did not pick up, but just rocked
the pipe and away it went.

Fortunately I made up a tool to retrieve it

and the pipe was successfully retrieved
without a spear on the fist run and not a lot
of time was lost or my job. 
A rotary that has a size of 48in. would need to
have the master bushing taken out and the pipe
adapted to hang on the rotary. 
However a rotary is not limited by the
manufactures size over the years, I have run 48
inc pipe using a 36 in rotary. This will mean
taking the rotary out and using the skid beams as
a false rotary.
On one particular well we install 48 in casing over
a well we had just completed and use the same
technique to build and install the platform and to
my knowledge the platform is still there to this
day.
The drawing shows the 36 inc pipe that is to be
driven sitting on the rotary table before it is
welded and driven. It is sitting on the same pad
eyes that it was picked up with.
The rotary has to be strong as it will often take more weight than it was designed
for.

When the drill or casing string is settled in the slips the rotary will be holding the
buoyant weight of the string this could be 75% of the total weight.

However not everyone seems to have the time to settle the string into the slips
under control, it is not unusual for such people to drop the slips in around the pipe as
the pipe is still moving at a fair speed.

Under such conditions, a string with a buoyant weight of say 400,000 lbs could very
easily weigh 800,000 lbs  as it come to a sudden stop. Don't do it
.
Rotary Slips are designed for use in
API Bowls. There are 3 gripping
lengths. 11 in, 13 3/4 in and for deep
holes 16 ½.

They are rugged in design and the slip

assembly is designed to provides full
load distribution throughout the
length of the slip thus preventing
bottle-necking or slip crushing of the
drill pipe.

It is important the right length of

drill pipe slips are being used for the
string weight that is being run and
that the insert bowls are not worn or
damaged.
Drill pipe slips come in a range of sizes
and in many case the dies that grip the
pipe can be interchanged or a set of
slips are so design that different size
slip dies will fit the same body. 

The handles are designed in such a way

that the people handling them cup the
handle from below.

This is the safe way to pull slips if the

worm on the brake can not stop the
block and should land the elevators on
the slips it is just a matter of releasing
the handle and letting the elevator hit
them and not taking off most of your
hand.
This is the most common view
people get of the rig floor, and
it is the view the driller sees
most of the time.
The pipe in the middle is going
down the hole and tools are
laying around.
However there is far more too
it than that.
One must remember that all
roads lead to the floor and
everything and body on the
operation is there to support it.
It is only when things go wrong
do people other that the
drilling crew realise there is
more to it than standing behind
the driller drinking coffee
Safety is always a
top priority on the
floor
The photo shows the rig
pulling from the hole
under very tight conditions.
Note how every thing is
moved away from the
rotary. It only takes
a second to clear the
floor.

The drawworks are an

Oilwell 2000 and is less than two years old. Before this pull we pulled 998,700 lbs
on the casing to get it back out of the well. Here we are only pulling 470000 lbs
and cleaning out the 84o 8300 foot hole in 1984. The well was drilled and
completed in 12.3 days
Working over wells using a
swamp barge has it fair
share of hazards especially
where this one is working.
Here you see the pipe deck
and the V-door as we pull
out laying done pipe ready
to wire line.
The completion string has
yet to arrive and the wire
line unit is installed behind
me up on the poop deck.
Same well. With the
string now laid out.
The operation going on is
wire line.
As you can see the kelly
has been racked back.
And the wire line
lubricator is hanging free
in the derrick.
 More time is
wasted on
testing due
to drillers not
knowing the
piping around
their rig

A well designed floor will

have a minimum of 4
manifolds
High
Stand
Cement
Choke
Pressure
Pipe
Manifold
Manifold
Manifold
 The stand pipe is a configuration
of valves, sensor and gauges
designed to divert the flow of
fluid from the rig pumps
Normally designed in a “H” shape it
should be able to direct fluid
under pressure to the following
areas.
The Kill Line on the BOPs
The Cement Manifold.
The Choke Manifold.
The Shale Shakers.
Back to the pump Room.
On land to the Production Area
Of course it must also direct fluid down the drill string. While all of this is going
on, it must also have a point where a sensor can monitor the pressure. Such
points would need to be isolated in case one needs to be repaired. It cannot do
this alone. Other manifolds are connected to it but the lines are out of sight
 Hydraulic Chokes

Baffle Chamber

To Mud Gas Valve Behind Chokes

Separator

Manual Pressure
Chokes Gauges
Testing
Port

Manual
Gate
Valves
From Cement Pump From Bottom Choke Line
To Bottom Kill Line From Top Choke Line
 Main by Pass Valve
would normally be
4inc.

Hydraulic
Gate Valve

Baffle tank leading to Mud Gas Separator

Flow
Double Low
Nipples to
studded Pressure
reduce
adapter Side
wear and
Flange to
wash on High
reduce pipe
the Pressure
size
manifold Side
Test
Port
Inlet
Manual Bean
Chokes

Hydraulic Chokes Controlled by the Driller

There are many
configurations of drilling
choke manifolds.

They can be purchased

or custom built to fit the
condition that will prevail
on any particular well.

However the basic must

have the following.
On land a hydraulic choke is essential.

It is extremely hard to control an influx from the rig floor if the choke is
50 or 60 feet away from the driller.

There must be three flow paths with one that is not choked back. This
will normally be in the centre and will when open allow the fluid to flow un-
interrupted directly to the sump.

Other outlet will go to the mud gas separator and one to the flare line.
The line leading to the flare must be anchored to the ground. Both must
have an isolation valve and they must be tested at the same time as the
BOP’s.
The high pressure circulating system start with the rig pump (slush Pump).
The total pressure loss in the system is highest at the discharge of the
pump a point that is often missed when making out the drilling hydraulic
program.

The 200 or 300 psi between the rig pump and the stand pipe gauge can
often be the deciding factor in the amount of rig down time due to pump
failure.

Look after the rig pumps and they will look after you.
 Triplex Single Action stroke cycle 

There are two drilling fluid circulating system involved in oil well drilling, the
low pressure mixing system and the high pressure circulating system. For the
rig to operate effectively good high pressure mud pumps is needed.

Wells are getting deeper by

the day and circulating
pressures are climbing. 20
years go circulating with 3000
psi was high pressure, today
drilling pressure in excess of
4200 psi are not uncommon
and so the need for a reliable
circulating system arises.  
The National-Oilwell model 12-P-160 Triplex mud pumps offers the rig a wide
range of pressures and volumes for maximum operational flexibility. The
Pump is equipped with a maintenance free suction and discharge pulsation
dampener that is designed reduce hydraulic noise and improve detection of
MWD signals that are transported from the tools to surface via the drilling
fluid.
 Discharge Pod
Cylinder and Valve
Plug and seal
assemblies

Piston extension clamp

Quick change caps

Triplex pumps are force

feed with the cylinder
under pressure when the
piston is on the forward
stroke

Piston Complete with Head Suction Pod

Fluid Flow Direction
Due to the speed the triplex can run at it is force feed by a charger pump.
Normally a 11" centrifugal pump powered by a 75 horse power electric motor. By
changing the liner and piston the pump pressure can be regulated between 0 and
7500 psi. As the name triplex indicates, there are three liners and all there have
to make a complete cycle to complete one the stroke.

As you can see as the piston is

withdrawn the fluid is forced into the
liner cylinder by the charger pump.

The forward stroke pushes The back stroke fills the cylinder.
the fluid under pressure

The pressure being applied from the two other cylinder hold the discharge valve
closed until it starts it's forward stroke. The suction valve then closes and the
drilling fluid is forced up into the main stream circulation system. Quick release
caps and heads make them an extremely easy pump to work on when changing out
the liners 
 Relief
Valve

Bleed off line

Pulsation
Dampener
Mud filter
screen inside
Discharge Manifold

Discharge Pod (3)

Suction Pods (3)

To stand pipe

Suction inlet
The secret of successful pumps is to run a program. This is done by changing
out and replacing expendable parts.

Seat Pulling
Tools

Valve and seat

A six valve insert change allows for a pump program

of 2100 hours before a major parts change
Valve and seat
 Nitrogen Pressure gauge
Unlike the Triple Pop off Valve
The duplex Nitrogen Fill Up Point
needs a little 2” bleed off line
Pulsation Dampener
more looking
after. Pressure
Gauge Anybody can pull
Attention needs to pipe but a good
be paid to the
Derrick Man is
valves while the Isolation
judged on his
pump is running. Valve Discharge Pod ability to look
Not being able to after his pumps
see when a swab and drilling fluid
goes out can and
often does lead to Suction Pod
a lot of extra
work.
Ideally the rig To
Graphic:
should have a pump Well Leonard T. Roe
RigSite
program Skid www.workover.co.uk

Main suction inlet

The duplexes double acting pump can be hard work especially when working on
pumps like the Oilwell 1700. The liners is closed in making diagnosing problems
harder, if the piston starts to wash it is very easy to confuse the signs with a
valve washing out. and if you get it wrong ?

The duplexes stroke slower than the triplex and can be gravity feed how ever
most company now run them force feed.

Backward Stroke Forward Stroke

 Running a pump with a damaged pulsation rubber
is a quick way to damage a pump. It should be
checked daily and adjusted to the rated working
pressure.

Introduced over 40 years ago it has solved many

of the problems associated with oilfield
reciprocating mud pumps. A stabilizer disk
enhances reliability by precluding the trapping of
fluids in folds of the diaphragm which increases
diaphragm life and predictability.

Hydrill K-Series Is rated

The pulsation dampener if filled up with nitrogen
at 7500 psi and is possibly
from the top inlet valve to a maximum pressure
the most well know of all
of 750 psi and should be sealed using Teflon tape
pulsation dampeners
on the threads before reinstalling the cap.
Type "B" reset relief valve is used as a safety
valve on slush pumps, mud manifolds and other
equipment to protect against damaging pressure
surges. The valve pressure setting is indicated by
a pointer and is adjustable over the entire
operating range.

The pressure setting can be changed while the

valve is under pressure.
When the preset pressure is exceeded, the
valve snaps to the fully open position. After
pressure is relieved, a trip-free reset lever
closes the valve.
Setting accuracy is not affected by vibration,
pressure surges, or valve operation.
Pressure setting scales are available in psi, bars,
and MPa.
The stainless steel valve piston seats against an elastomer seal
which is out of the direct path of flow.

Rapid valve opening and isolation of the seal, minimizes erosion. Finish

The valve is fully enclosed for safety and to retain the protective grease
coating on all moving parts in the bonnet assembly.

No shear pins or other parts are needed for resetting to the closed position.

A manual release button in the bonnet assembly permits easy and rapid opening
of the valve regardless of line pressure.
The position of the release button indicates whether the valve is open or
closed.

Relief pressure can be set at any value over the entire range of the valve.
 Introduction

Chemicals, clays and weight materials are added to drilling fluid to achieve various
needed properties. Drilled solids, consisting of rock and low-yielding clays.

These solids affect many mud properties.

Solids removal is one of the most important aspects of mud system control, since it
is directly related to operating efficiency.

The volume of solids has a direct bearing on the: rig efficiently, rate of
penetration (ROP), hole stability, drilling hydraulics, torque and drag, surge and
swab pressures and is the major mechanism associated with many of the hole
problem such as lost circulation and stuck pipe.

Therefore solid control is a major influence the cost of any drilling operation
It is impossible to remove all drilled solids, either mechanically or by any other
methods however they can be reduced by:

Screens “shale shakers”

Sand Traps.

Dumping and dilution

Hydroclones

Desander.

Desilters.

Centrifuges

Hydroclones and centrifuges use centrifugal force to obtain higher rates of

separation than can be achieved by gravitational settling.
 Shale Shaker
Many potential problems can be avoided by observing
and adjusting the shale shakers to achieve maximum
removal efficiency for the handling capacity.
As the first step in the mud cleaning/solids-removal
chain, the shale shaker represent the first line of
defence against solids accumulation. They produce
nearly a 100% cut (D100) at the screen opening size.
A 200-square-mesh shale shaker screen will remove
100% of the solids greater than 74 microns,

Using screens of the finest mesh to remove as

many drill solids as possible on the first circulation
from the well is the most efficient method of
solids control.
It prevents solids from being re-circulated and degraded in size until they cannot
be removed. As much as 90% of the generated solids can be removed by the shale
Shakers
Warning NEVER BYPASS The SHAKERS
De-sanding Cyclones

A desander is needed to prevent overload

on the de-silters. Generally, a 6-in. ID or
larger hydroclone is used, with a unit made
up of two 12-in. hydro-clones, rated at 500
gpm per hydro-clone, being common. 
Large desander hydroclones have the
advantage of a large volumetric capacity
(flow rate) per hydroclone, but have the
disadvantage of making wide particle-
size cuts in the 45- to 74-micron range. 

To obtain efficient results, a desander

must be installed with the proper “head”
pressure.
 De-silting Cyclones
To achieve maximum efficiency and prevent
overloading the desilter, the entire flow should
be de-sanded before being de-silted. Generally,
a 4-in. ID hydroclone is used for de-silting, with
a unit containing 12 or more 4-in. hydroclones,
rated at 75 gpm per hydroclone, being common.
The proper volumetric capacity for de-silters
and de-sanders should be equal to 125 to 150%
of the circulation rate. Large-diameter wells
with high circulation rates require a greater
number of hydroclones.

Desilter hydroclones generally process a significant volume of fluid and have a more-
desirable narrow cut point. A well designed and properly operated 4-in. hydroclone will
have a D50 cut point of 15 to 35 microns, with a D90 of around 40 microns. Since
barite falls into the same size range as silt, it also will be separated from the mud
system by a desilter.
For this reason, desilters are rarely used on weighted muds above 12.5 lb/gal. Both
desilter and desander are used primarily while drilling surface hole and where un-
weighted, low-density muds are used.
 Linear Motion Mud Cleaner
Basically, a mud cleaner is a desilter
mounted over a vibrating-screen
shaker generally 12 or more 4-in.
hydroclones above a very fine-mesh
screen, high-energy shaker. A mud
cleaner will remove sand-size drill
solids from the mud, yet retain the
barite. It first processes the mud
through the desilter, then screens
the discharge through a fine-mesh
shaker.

The mud and solids that pass through the screen (cut size depending on screen mesh)
are saved; the larger solids retained on the screen are discarded. By API
specifications, 97% of barite particles are less than 74 microns in of the waste
material lowers disposable costs. 
Unless the mud cleaner is discharging a significant amount of solids, the centrifugal
pump feeding the desilter will be causing detrimental particle size degradation. 

If fine-mesh shale shaker screens of 200 mesh or less are operating properly and
no mud is bypassing the shakers, a mud cleaner may not be of any additional value
 Decanting Centrifuges
CENTRIFUGES As with hydroclones, decanting-type centrifuges increase the
forces causing separation of the solids by increasing centrifugal force. The
decanting centrifuge consists of a conical, horizontal steel bowl rotating at a high
speed, with a screw-shaped conveyor inside. 
This conveyor rotates in the same direction as the outer bowl, but at a slightly
slower speed. The high rotating speed forces the solids to the inside wall of the
bowl and the conveyor pushes them to the end for discharge. Whole mud is pumped
into the hollow spindle of the conveyor, where it is thrown outward into an annular
ring of mud called the “pond.” 

CENTRIFUGE APPLICATIONS
In weighted drilling fluids, a
centrifuge is normally used for
barite recovery. This is
beneficial when the liquid
phase of the mud is very
expensive.
 Drill Cuttings & Solids Pulverizer

The disposal of drill cuttings and

environmentally hazardous
materials is becoming a critical
issue aboard offshore drilling rigs.
Governments are becoming
intolerant to the use of oceans as
a "waste can" for oil exploration.
The issue now becomes one of
HOW and WHERE do oil companies
dispose of these liquid and solid
wastes?
To combat this companies have had to develop new ways of  Disposing of Drill
Cuttings and Hazardous Materials. This machine is the "Drill Cuttings & Solids
Pulverizer" (DCSP).
The DCSP reduces the volume and the handling difficulties associated with the
disposal of materials generator during offshore exploration. Solids are reduced
to a smooth slurry which can be handled via pumps and piping instead of with
conveyors and shovels. Liquid waste streams can be mixed into these slurries
thereby eliminating the need for separation of waste materials.
Why do we want to remove gas from drilling fluids?

There are several problems caused by gas, but the main reason we want to remove
gas from drilling fluids is to keep the mud pumps pumping mud.

Due to the compressibility of gas a mud pump with a compression ratio of 1.5 will
stroke with almost no delivery if the mud weight is cut by 33%. A mud pump with a
compression ratio of 2.0 (some triplex pumps) will stroke without pumping mud at all
when the mud weight is cut 50%.

Many think that pumping gas cut mud down the hole is serious because it will reduce
the hydrostatic head and even lead to a kick. Any bubbles in the suction pit that can
be picked up by the pumps and pumped down the drill pipe will probably be smaller
than 1/8" in diameter. As the bubbles are pumped down the drill pipe, they are under
so much pressure and are compressed so small that it will only slightly affect the mud
weight and consequently the hydrostatic pressure.
The mud gas separator is very
often referred to as the poor
boy degasser. This goes back To flare lin e
to the times when it was just a U nr dite can
O r n o rm
b e alu se d
tank open to the atmosphere. C lonsdeitio
co d inn sDite swigonueldd
The values of this equipment bfoer lin u nedde ru pb alan
as an ce d
can not be overstressed as it is d rillin
atm o sgp hane ric
H 2 s G as .

generally the first device

d e g as s e r s e n d in g
G as
an y glinase uwpo uthlde b e
available to extract gas from d2 e00 rrick
fe e t an d u p to
the mud. 1 2 in c d iam e te r
Th is typ e o f
dI nele g as
t fro
sem r can
ch obkee
It consists of a chamber with dcoire u ld
ctlyb ep ulupm tob e8d in c
baffle plates, which are flat d iam
in to th e te
e r.
re tu rn
plates that force the fluid Rew
flo tulinrne man u d lin
u s e du pas
through a certain path.
ptoart 1 2o in
f th
c. ed diam
iveerte
te r.
r
s ys te m .
C an b e fix e d o r s k id
The mud is allowed to flow in
Imn othu nistecas
d . an
e thde
w otuu rn
re ld inh ave
g fluaid
the chamber over the baffle d iam
w o u lde te
g or ob fack
6 feinetot.
plates which separates some of th e s ys te m
the entrained gas. This device
generally can extract 50% to H alf R o u n d b affle p late s

60% of the gas.

R e tu rn to m u d tan k s
 As an example, if you take a 10 ppg mud that is gas cut 10% to 9 ppg, the volume
of all the bubbles in one gallon is 231 in3 times 10% = 23.1 in3. According to
Boyle's Law:

Boyles Law - Pressure-Volume Relationship for Gasses:= P1/P2 = V2/V1

Compressing a gas at a constant temperature to double its pressure causes the

gas volume to decrease to one-half its present volume.

For a 10 ppg mud gas-cut to 9 ppg (23.1 in3 of gas) at the surface at atmospheric
pressure (14.7 psi) it will be 2 atmospheres of pressure at 30.6 ft. The gas volume is
now 11.55 in3 and 9.5 ppg. At 58.8 ft. and 4 atmospheres of pressure the volume is
1/4 of 23.1 in3 and mud weight is 9.75 ppg. At 1800 ft. the mud weight is 9.98 ppg
which is so little the difference can't be seen on a mud balance.
The real problem with gas-cut mud is that it can go unnoticed. If the apparent
mud weight is low, barite may be added to increase the mud weight to the desired
level.

If you have a true mud weight of 12 ppg that is gas cut to 10 ppg and add
barite to increase the mud weight to 12 ppg in a 1000 bbl system, it would take
approximately 1200 sacks of barite. This would be an unnecessary expense in
unneeded materials, but the initial cost of the barite would not be the only
problem.

The added solids in the mud would reduce the penetration rate, bit life and solids
removal efficiency. If drilling at or near the fracture gradient of the formation,
there is a possibility of fracturing the formation and losing all or partial returns.
All of the above slow the drilling process and cost money.
Blowout Preventors (BOP’s)
and Blowout Preventors
Equipment (BOPE) are
installed on the well to control
invading formation fluid should
the primary well control fail.
The primary well control being
the drilling fluid in the
wellbore.
BOP’s and the subject of well
control is a is a course within
its own right and can not be
cover in this short time,
However this introduction will
help you understand its value
Pressure controlling Cameron TL Double Preventer
devices designed for
wellhead service.
Various ram designs may
be used to seal off open
well bores; the annulus
around drill pipe, tubing
or casing; or shear the
drill string. A complete
selection of sizes and
pressure capabilities to
handle any drilling
application on land,
offshore or subsea.
Now days Smart BOPs: Both standard and compact BOPs can be instrumented
to sense, quantify and remember pressures, temperatures, on/off status and
incremental ram positions. This data can be used for display and control
functions in land, offshore and subsea operations
 Bore
Ring Grove

Pipe Ram Top Seal

Upper Flange

Pipe ram lifting eye

Locking Screw

Pipe Ram Body Bonnet

Pipe Ram Sealing Elements (rubbers)

Ram Piston