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SEPTEMBER 2017 | EXPLORATION | DRILLING | PRODUCTION

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SEPTEMBER 2017 SEPTEMBER 2017 SEPTEMBER 2017 EXPLORATION | DRILLING | PRODUCTION

OFC_OT_September_2017.indd 1 04/09/2017 09:33

| Oilfield Technology Reprinted from September 2017

What is to be done with a 10-year-old, US$10 million rig when today’s operators are demanding modern rigs with the latest drilling technology? The options are limited: let the rig sit idle,

or upgrade. Tesco Corporation has focused its research and development efforts over the past several years on supporting these upgrades. As the industry moves towards ‘super spec’ rigs, the upgrades required to convert tier 1 and tier 2 drilling rigs to super spec are becoming more important than ever. When it comes to performance, what many thought to be impossible just 10 years ago, is now considered best practice. A well requiring 30 days to drill 10 years ago is now planned for 15 days or less. Beyond being faster, modern drilling rigs must now be safer and allow for further efficiency gains. While safety, speed and adaptation may seem to be at odds with one another, they are an industry requirement. The expectation of the operators and drilling contractors is that non-productive time (NPT) and flat time are continually removed from their drilling process. Remaining competitive in today’s drilling environment is difficult and requires adaptability. Upgrading an existing rig to make it a super spec can be done with 50% or less cost compared to acquiring a new asset. These upgrades are not only an attractive option, but a necessary option for many drilling contractors.

Introducing industry improvementsMost drilling contractors are being challenged to introduce improvements to the drilling process through upgrades to their current rig fleet’s equipment and controls. The spectrum of these upgrades varies greatly based on their current rig specification and age. One of the challenges associated with upgrading existing assets is determining which components should be upgraded, and which components should be left in place. Given economic constraints, upgrading an entire rig may not be practical. With this in mind, there have been significant developments

towards ensuring marketability when the latest technology is integrated into older equipment. Take, for instance, the recently introduced Tesco Automated Catwalk (TAC); the TAC-45 model presents a tubular to the rig floor in the most ergonomically correct angle and works with virtually any rig with floor heights from 8 - 35 ft (Figure 1). The TAC-45 can be placed or walked into a location in very short order, eliminating the need for a ‘V’ door, while significantly improving tubular handling times. In a recent example a customer in the Middle East requested a trial of the TAC-45 to evaluate its performance against their conventional pick up and lay down (PULD) operation. The results of the trial showed total time savings of 21 hours – a 45% time saving in flat time as compared to their previous PULD methods. This is one of many examples where modern technology can upgrade the performance of an existing drilling rig. The TAC-45 does not know the age of a rig; it shows up to work every day and will convey a tubular to or from the rig floor quicker than any crane, ‘V’ door or skate in the market.

Once the tubular is on the floor, the Casing Drive System™ (CDS™) for casing or pipe drive system (PDS) for drill pipe can engage and disengage virtually any tubular in under 5 seconds without touching the threads. The CDS allows for hands-free casing running, removing the need for large spider elevators, stabbing boards and ultimately requiring fewer hands through the automated process. In the case of the PDS, traditional methods rely on direct contact with tubular threads via a saver sub, resulting in longer and less consistent make-up times. By eliminating the need to handle tubulars by the threads, the PDS mitigates the potential for pipe washout and the subsequent trips to pull out of hole.

Good process design starts with good machine design so that when the controls take over the machine, the motions are short, efficient and consistent. The CDS and PDS are examples of standardising motions so that the rig’s integrated controls can remain simple. The same control lines

KEEPING PACE W I T H T H E

COMPETITION

COVER STORY

ROY MCNIVEN & DOUG GREENING, TESCO CORPORATION, REVEAL HOW NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE HELPING COMPANIES REMAIN COMPETITIVE IN TODAY’S DRILLING ENVIRONMENT.

September 2017 Oilfield Technology | 29

engage both the CDS and PDS, enabling the driller and floor hands to do the same repeatable task as the tools are interchanged for their respective task in the drilling process. As a result, there are no wasted steps and no wasted time, with limited human intervention. The TAC-45, CDS, and PDS use efficient mechanical motions controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) to ensure processes are repeated in a consistent manner, time and time again without breaks. It has been Tesco’s goal to remove hands from the hazardous areas of the rig floor by making the tools required available to make that happen available to all rigs, both old and new.

The TAC-45, PDS and CDS tools are part of a comprehensive, automated pipe handing package facilitating the conveyance of tubulars end to end through the rig and down the hole with minimal human assistance. Beyond the obvious benefits of hands-free pipe handling, the benefits of being attached to the casing and drill strings using the PDS and CDS are just starting to be fully appreciated. In the case of the CDS and casing strings, it allows for better well control, reduced chances for stuck pipe and enables superior quality cement jobs. By adding Tesco’s cement swivel and multi-plug launching system (MPLS) in combination with the CDS, operators can further reduce flat time on virtually any rig. Staging casing plugs in the MPLS prior to arriving on the rig site allows for a seamless transition from running casing to cementing in a fraction of the time taken for traditional cementing heads, all while providing the option to rotate during cementing (Figure 2). Plugs are launched remotely with the push of a button. The ability to upgrade rigs with the newest technology requires minimal effort and is improving the lifespan and overall marketability of many underutilised rigs.

Ultimately, it is not just about equipment or automation. It is about making the interaction of people and equipment more fluid and efficient all while making it safer for the people remaining engaged in the operation. Designing equipment with the mindset of automating the process it was intended to optimise goes beyond automating or mechanising a function of a formerly mechanical task. Such is the theory behind Tesco’s

PDS concept. Through the push of a button, the PDS displaces the need for a saver sub and the ability to feather a connection, making a full torque, full pressure and full tonnage connection in approximately 5 seconds. Not only does the PDS change the landscape of how drill pipe connections are made today, it also facilitates pumping out of hole in a time comparable to tripping out in elevators, reducing the chances of swabbing and increasing wellbore stability. The removal of saver subs and gripper dies significantly reduces Opex and the efficient design decreases overall equipment repair and maintenance costs. The PDS automates a series of seemingly uncomplicated steps, which are extremely difficult to automate in conjunction, taking the industry one step closer to a fully automated drill pipe connection.

Dealing with big dataImproved efficiencies come in many forms and while hardware and equipment play a role in revitalising existing rigs, the control platform that runs the machinery plays a larger part in making the overall system seamlessly integrated and ultimately more efficient. Today, this rig controls software platform extends beyond surface equipment and is beginning to interface with equipment downhole, such as MWD systems, to further optimise not only the surface equipment efficiency but overall drilling efficiency through a more seamless interface. As a means of interfacing surface equipment with downhole feedback, Tesco introduced its Automated Rig Controls (ARC) software in 2016, the ARC platform consists of a series of applications that work in conjunction with the top drive, draw works, mud pumps and feedback from downhole MWD systems. The first applications, ARCTork™ and ARCSlide™, were specifically focused on mitigating down-hole stick slip to improve rate of penetration (ROP), bit life and automated oscillation controls for the top drive. In addition, the ARC platform hosts the company’s equipment health monitoring and asset management offering, ARCFit™. A case study featuring ARCTork in a northern Canadian drilling application showed an operator saved an entire bit trip during an intermediate section, while boosting ROP at the same time. These savings in flat time are creating the incremental value operators that drilling contractors require to remain competitive in today’s environment.

Acquiring ‘Big Data’ in today’s market conditions can cost a premium, which is unhelpful in an industry that is already hesitant to adopt new technology. There is still an assumption that integrating this type of technology will cause a learning curve for rig hands, further hindering its adoption. Drilling contractors already have a significant investment in their existing rig fleet, which needs to be leveraged and not looked at as a sunk cost. Through a simple approach, aimed at upgrading only components requiring upgrades or attributes of existing components such as HP upgrades for top drives, it is possible to help the industry more rapidly and successfully make this transition – looking beyond just NPT but also at reducing flat time through optimisation of the drilling process and human machine interface. Making equipment and software enhancements adaptable and seamlessly integrated allows them to be integrated during planned down-time events or during rig moves, saving time and investment for drilling contractors. When they do need to be returned to an OEM’s facility, scheduling the upgrades to be performed in conjunction with planned OEM and API maintenance schedules provides further value to the customer.

SummaryLeading into and throughout the downturn, Tesco Corporation has worked to make the drilling processes more efficient. From a portfolio of pipe handling products to software, the company is working to ensure that the drilling industry has the tools required to be safe and profitable even at US$40 oil.

Figure 1. Catwalk TAC-45: TAC-45 rendering on a rig site.

Figure 2. MPLS rendering on a rig floor.