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Vol. 231 No. 3 |
Automatic rig for cluster wells
Drillmec SpA, a Trevi Group oilfield equipment manufacturer, has introduced its newest automatic rig, model HH300 CAR, specially designed and manufactured for Enel Green Power (an Italian renewable energy company). The rig was designed for operations in very challenging conditions, such as limited space availability and road net complexity. The customer’s operations required that the rig pass above existing high wellheads, in fairly narrow locations with difficult access. A conventional rig was not a feasible solution because of its wide footprint and space requirements around each well. The HH300 is more compact, faster moving, safer and more environmentally friendly.
ESP motor protection system Wood Group ESP has introduced the iMonitor motor protection system, designed for use with downhole electric submersible pump (ESP) motors and medium-sized to large induction motors on surface pumps. The system can be used as a stand-alone motor controller or interfaced directly to an automated control system. It incorporates display technology with control features driven by more powerful microprocessors. A fixed-speed motor controller and data-acquisition device, it helps protect equipment against power-line-induced faults and other problems by continuously monitoring input power and motor load conditions. When coupled with the optional iMonitor Data Logger, the system gathers operating information including system run time, system shutdowns, automatic or manual restarts and motor current draw. Additionally, to help guard against loss of pump flow, loss of pressure and other conditions, the system can monitor external sensors and protective devices. The modular system includes four main components: motor control unit, remote display unit, backspin relay module with optional backspin probe assembly, and optional data logging unit. The individual iMonitor components are usually mounted inside a fixed-speed motor starter/switchboard. Existing installations can be field-retrofitted for improved motor protection.
Shaker replacement screens
M-I Swaco has released a new line of composite replacement screens for oilfield shakers. The Duraflo replacement screens are designed to fit the Brandt Cobra, King Cobra and LCM-3D shakers. The screens are made using a glass-filled polypropylene and steel-reinforced frame, and provide resistance to corrosive drilling fluids. They also offer improved fluid capacity due to a higher percentage of non-blanked area than other framed screens, high resistance to blinding and drier solids discharge. Composite construction that includes a soft gasket molded into the bottom of the frame creates an ultratight seal between the screen and screen bed, and eliminates solids buildup and solids bypass. The composite screens are lighter than standard steel-framed screens, allowing for easier and safer replacement.
Automated welding tractors
The Moyno Gear Drivehead (MGD) uses an adjustable hydraulic gear drive to quickly control downhole progressing cavity pump speed at the wellsite. The hydraulic drivehead features effective backspin control for operational safety. The MGD is rated to 70 hp at 1,200-rpm input speed. It features high-strength alloy shafts for rugged durability, accepts standard “C”-mount 80- or 90-cc hydraulic motors for more cost-effective components and handles system pressures to 4,000 psi. External moving parts such as belts and sheaves are eliminated. Production can be optimized by matching pump speed to well conditions.
Deepwater GOM knowledge base Knowledge Reservoir LLC, a geosciences and engineering consulting services company, announced the 2010 release of its deepwater knowledge base, ReservoirKB. The release features improvements in both application design and content. It now covers more than 290 fields (about 100 additional), more than 900 reservoirs (about 250 additional) and more than 1,240 wells (about 200 additional). This update has a redesigned user interface, with new user-defined tables, user-defined charts, user-defined statistics and GIS map navigation. ReservoirKB is a comprehensive knowledge base directed toward exploration and appraisal geoscientists and engineers in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. It provides coverage of all deepwater productive sands discovered, constituting reservoirs currently either in production or sanctioned for development. Additionally, the service provides continually updated reservoir performance metrics, analogs, lessons learned and regional knowledge, which are not available from any other single source.
Measurement calibration center
Gagemaker’s Mic-Trac is a precision electronic calibration and measurement center. It is available in two models, the MT-3000 and the MT-4000. The MT-3000 is for part measurement and hand-tool calibration. Its durable construction and adaptability make it suitable for shop floor measurements. The MT-4000 offers higher precision to calibrate cylindrical and threaded ring and plug gages. Two components give the tool its precise measuring capabilities: An optical glass scale housed within the base unit provides accuracies to +0.00002 in., and receiver pads and anvils are manufactured and precision-ground to within 0.00005 in. to provide parallel surfaces for measuring. Both models are available in measurement ranges of 0–12 in., 0–24 in., 0–36 in., 0–48 in. and larger custom sizes.
ROV pilot training
Fugro General Robotics Limited (FGRL) has launched DeepTouch, its next-generation ROV pilot training simulator, which can also be used for evaluation of subsea engineering designs. The system brings fully force-modeled physics simulation to subsea and ROV simulators, so that any object in the world model both feels and behaves like the real thing. This “touch and feel” interactive simulation gives the pilot the same graduated tactile response as if he were actually using a tool, such as a manipulator, to move or adjust a subsea component in the field. Customization is straightforward, and programing skills are not required. The user can drag and drop objects from the extensive libraries to build subsea worlds containing items such as vessels, pipes, cables and ROVs. The system can also show electrical and hydraulic circuits in complex subsea machinery, modeling down to fine detail within the ROV itself, which makes it quick and easy to change a vehicle design or even create a new one. The simulation allows engineers to evaluate and change designs prior to manufacture and reduces reliance on prototypes. Like its predecessor, the ROVolution simulator, DeepTouch uses PC hardware running Windows XP. Existing ROVolution simulators can be upgraded to DeepTouch specification.
Subsea control valves
Mokveld Valves BV, based in Gouda, the Netherlands, a supplier of engineered valve systems, has developed an 8-in., API 5.000 subsea axial control valve. “Axial” refers to the streamlined symmetrical and unrestricted flow path between the valve inner and outer body. The flow design has been used successfully in topside severe-service control applications. Mokveld elected to use the axial flow concept as the basis for a new subsea control valve, in close cooperation with Oceaneering, FMC and Aker Solutions. The qualification program included an API 6A PR2 test, endurance testing with 500,000 cycles and hyperbaric testing simulating seabed conditions. The axial valve design is suitable for subsea anti-surge and separator control applications. In addition, the valve design can be used for subsea HIPPS applications as per API RP170.
Gas pipeline combo tool
BJ Services has introduced the Gemini system, a new range of combo tools that provide caliper, metal loss and mapping information in a single unit. The Gemini combo tools integrate existing technology found in the current fleet of Geopig and Vectra tools. Unlike conventional combo tools, the Gemini uses an active speed control with gas-bypass capability to run in high-speed gas pipelines to obtain both corrosion and deformation information without restricting gas flow or line speed. The tool allows pipeline operators to accurately size and detect corrosion features using the triaxial sensor technology that was first developed for Vectra magnetic flux leakage tools in the late 1990s. In addition to sizing and detecting corrosion features, the tool sensors detect cracks in dents and other mechanical damage, including wrinkles, gouging and metal loss within dents. The tool also sizes and detects dents in the pipeline. The high-density caliper sensor spacing and high axial sample rate allows accurate, effective strain-in-dent calculations to be performed for dent repair prioritization.
The standard inertial mapping unit on the tool makes it possible to calculate bending strain information, as well as provide accurate pipeline location information, a feature introduced in the 1980s for the Geopig caliper tool. This capability can be critical when the pipeline is located in a geotechnically unstable area. The development of the tool included integration of the data analysis with the existing GeminiView viewing and analysis software. Gemini tools in sizes 30- and 36-in. have been deployed, with 24- and 42-in. tools in development.
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