Frank’s International casing running tool deployed in industry’s first 30-in. CwD job

HOUSTON -- In a project that established a new worldwide milestone in casing while drilling (CwD) operations, Frank’s International provided its FA-1 casing running tool (CRT), modified for 30-in. casing drilling and running, to Schlumberger for a 30-in. CwD shallow water project in the Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico. The event marked the industry’s first 30-in. CwD job.

The 30-in. by 34-in. conductor section was drilled and cased at 256 m, drilling a total of 178 m in 9.52 hours with an average rate of penetration (ROP) of 18.04 m per hour. The successful implementation of Frank’s modified 22-in. FA-1 CRT in conjunction with the Schlumberger Direct XCD drillable alloy casing bit saved the operator 1.31 days.

Frank’s worked in close collaboration with Schlumberger to successfully complete the design, manufacturing and testing of the new components for the FA-1 CRT in just under eight weeks. The CRT and tubular running services (TRS) for the project were performed by Frank’s local operations team in Villahermosa, Mexico.

Billy Walker, V.P. of Frank’s Latin America, Canada and U.S. land operations, said, “Frank’s best-in-class engineering and manufacturing capabilities, combined with the superior service quality of our Mexico operations, enabled us to rapidly and successfully support our customer in achieving this important global milestone.”