Active vibration damper improves performance and reduces drilling costs

A novel tool designed to detect and react to drillbit vibration was tested at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center (RMOTC), located in Teapot Dome Oil Field, also known as Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3 (NPR-3), near Casper, Wyoming. This new tool, the Active Vibration Damper (AVD), developed by APS Technology, Inc., monitors vibrations in the BHA and adjusts the damping coefficient to reduce them. This was the first field test of the device, which had previously been tested at a drilling laboratory. The AVD was developed under contract with the US Department of Energy Deep Trek Program. Smith Services is the commercial partner and collaborator in the testing and potential commercialization of the tool. Smith and APS partnered with RMOTC to conduct a test of the AVD in a field with an extensive drilling history for comparison. The RMOTC tests showed the AVD improves drilling economics in two areas: It increases ROP while minimizing vibration.