Phil Vollands, Varco Systems

VERTICAL PIPE RACKING is onc of

thc ncw tcchnologics that havc incicascd
dccpwatci capability, safcty, and cfficicn-
cy in ncw offshoic iigs built in thc last
thicc ycais.
Automatcd systcms such as vcitical pipc
iacking wcic not conccivcd to mcicly
icplacc man with machinc oi to automatc
a manual pioccssthcy aic dcsigncd to
changc thc vciy pioccsscs of tubulai han-
dling.
With 4O machincs now in thc ficld, Varco
Systcm's Pipc Racking Systcms (PRS)
iangc in capability fiom handling tiiplc-
lcngth diill pipc and bottom holc asscm-
blics (BHA), to iacking quadiuplc-lcngth
stands of casing in sizcs up to 2O in., to
iacking doublc stands of iisci.
All thcsc systcms utilizc what has bccomc
known as Ioxholc tcchnology with cithci
a convcntional X-Y fingciboaid oi
adjustablc "paiallcl" fingcis.
P R S O F F E R S N E W O P T I O N S
Thc Ioxholc is thc tcim givcn to an aux-
iliaiy opcning in thc iig flooi othci than
thc opcning foi thc iotaiy tablc. Thc Iox-
holc pcimits thc makcup oi bicakout of
stands of diill pipc oi casing off thc ciiti-
cal path of diilling opciations.
This patcntcd pioccss icquiics thc iig to
havc thc ability to hoist thc stand and
tianspoit it to thc sctback aica without
affccting wcll-ccntci opciations.
An cxamplc of this offlinc capability was
dcmonstiatcd on thc Noblc Max Smith
whcic doublcs of 13
3
/8-in. casing wcic
madc up in thc Ioxholc duiing a iig movc
and iackcd vcitically in thc dciiick icady
to bc iun latci in thc diilling piogiam.
Whcn it camc timc to iun thc casing in
thc holc, only half thc makcup conncc-
tions wcic icquiicd on thc ciitical path
and thc casing stiing was stationaiy foi
lcss timc down holc, incicasing thc piob-
ability of a succcssful iun.
M O R E C A S I N G S T R I N G S
As thc industiy continucs to dcvclop
dccpwatci ficlds wc scc moic and moic
intcimcdiatc stiings uscd in casing pio-
giams.
A iig's ability to makc up and iack back
an cntiic casing stiing in stands of dou-
blcs oi tiiplcsin a fingciboaid capablc
of iacking a iangc of casing
sizcspiovidcs significant cffi-
cicncy gains foi thc opciatoi.
Rigs capablc of iacking quadiu-
plc lcngth casing stands such as
Transoccan Scdco Forcx's Entci-
piisc diill ship and RB Falcon's
Dccpwatci Hoiizon can potcn-
tially avoid an cntiic wipci tiip by
tiipping in thc holc with 135-ft
stands of casing.
T R I P P I N G A D D S U P
What about thc most basic of opciations
that gavc iisc to thc fiist pipc handling
systcmstiipping pipc!
Occasionally, it is said that a manual cicw
can tiip fastci than any machinc. But Iig-
uic 2, listing thc lcngths of cach tiip in
cvcn thc most basic wcll piogiam, shows
that it icquiics 367,OOO ft of tiipping
that's 7O milcs!
Although thc PRS has bccn dcmonstiatcd
to tiip at a 6O-scc slip-to-slip timc, iaicly
can thc diilling cicw tiip at such a spccd,
cvcn in cascd holc.
Unlikc a manual cicw, Pipc Racking Sys-
tcms aic dcsigncd to handlc 6
5
/8-in. diill
pipc as casily as 4 -in. diill pipc and can
pioducc consistcnt motions at spccds
cxcccding opciational icquiicmcnts.
R E T R O F I T P O S S I B L E
Pipc iacking systcms aic no longci limit-
cd to ncwbuilds and majoi upgiadcs with
thc advcnt of thc PRS-8i.
Thc ncwcst mcmbci of thc Varco PRS
family can bc ictiofittcd to any cxisting
iig including sccond gcnciation scmis and
jackups.
Thc iig's cxisting X-Y fingciboaid is uscd
whcn possiblc and Ioxholc tcchnology
allows offlinc stand building capability
foi diill pipc and bottom holc asscmblics.
Pcifoimancc and spccd of installation
havc diivcn thc dcsign cffoit along with a
ncw contiol systcm that climinatcs onsitc
piogiamming duiing commissioning.
A S A F E T Y P A Y O F F
Piioi to thc cfficicncy gains dcmonstiatcd
thiough ncw pioccsscs, it was safcty that
had diivcn iig flooi automation.
BP Exploration statistics show that
diilling accounts foi 23% of man-houis,
Vertical pipe racking adds tubular handling options
Figure 1: Causes of rig accidents
Manual handling 38%
Trips/slips/falls 21%
Moving load 18%
Dropped load 11%
Dropped object 5%
Other 7%
Source: UK Health & Safety Executive
Trip in Trip out Total trip
30 in. hanger 3,750 4,000 7,750
Drill 26 in. hole 4,250 5,850 10,100
20 in. casing 4,000 4,000 8,000
Drill 17 1/2 in. hole 5,600 10,000 15,600
Run 13 3/8 in. casing 4,000 4,000 8,000
Drill 12 1/4 in. hole 10,000 18,000 28,000
12 1/4 in. bit trip no. 1 12667 12667 25,333
12 1/4 in. bit trip no. 2 15333 15333 30,667
Run 9 5/8 in. casing 4,000 4,000 8,000
Drill 8 3/4 in. hole 18,000 20,000 38,000
8 3/4 in. bit trip no. 1 18667 18667 37,333
8 3/4 in. bit trip no. 2 19333 19333 38,667
Run 7 in. casing 18,000 18,000 36,000
Post logging wiper trip 18,000 18,000 36,000
Total Tripped footage (ft) 327,450
Estimated additional trips for bits/MWD/wiper/coring:
8
Average trip depth:
5,000
Adjusted trip depth: 367,450
Figure 2: Trip lengths for basic program
September/October 2000 D R I L L I N G C O N T R A C T O R 45
yct 45% of injuiics aic diilling iclatcd.
Intcicstingly, it is common foi top pci-
foiming diilling iigs to bc among thc
safcst iigs.
Thc UK Hcalth and
Safcty Exccutivc (HSE)
icpoitcd on 137 offshoic
diilling accidcnts ovci an
18-month pciiod with
thc following icsults.
Thc HSE data show that
77% of total accidcnts
aic causcd by thc top
thicc catcgoiics: Manual
Handling (including usc
of manual tongs and
slips, and back injuiics
whilc manually iacking
pipc), Tiips/Slips/ Ialls,
and Moving Load
(includcs using tuggci
foi pipc tiansfci).
It is icasonablc to suggcst that a basic
lcvcl of automation on any iiginclud-
ing a ictiofittcd iackci, a ioughncck capa-
blc of bicaking BHA componcnts and
bits, and powci slipscan havc a signifi-
cant cffcct on iig flooi safcty. Using
machincs to pcifoim hazaidous tasks is
not ncw. Yct a laigc pciccntagc of acci-
dcnts still occui pcifoiming manual opci-
ations.
Automation is no longci applicablc only
to dccpwatci iigs. Significant oppoituni-
tics cxist to impiovc both safcty and cffi-
cicncy thioughout oui industiy by
cmbiacing ncw tcchnology and thc ncw
pioccsscs it affoids us.
A B O U T T H E A U T H O R
A graduate of Oxford University, Phil
Vollands is Marketing Manager for
Varco Systems and Varco BJ. Mr Vol-
lands has 9 years industry experi-
ence working in the North Sea, Cana-
da and the US. I
46 D R I L L I N G C O N T R A C T O R September/October 2000
Vertical pipe racking systems permit operations off the drilling criti-
cal path, expanding options and improving overall efficiency.
Werner Boom and Thorsten Dirks, Bentec
GmBH Drilling & Oilfield Systems
A ncw iig dcsign dcvclopcd by Bcn-
tccCmBH Drilling & Oilficld Systcms
offcis a vaiicty of tcchnical and commci-
cial advantagcs. Namcd SWINCA-RIC,
thc conccpt also allows foi a convcntional
iig to bc giadually convcitcd into a high-
tcchnology multipuiposc diilling iig.
Thc dcsign combincs a iangc of tcchnical
advantagcs with futuic icquiicmcnts foi
cfficicnt, safc and cconomical diilling.
Kcy fcatuics of thc iig includc:
An ability to pcifoim diilling, woikovci
and snubbing opciations,
Enhanccd diilling pcifoimancc,
Modulaiization of thc iig,
A highci lcvcl of hands-off opciation,
High mobility foi fast iig movcs,
An cxticmcly small footpiint,
Pcimancnt diilling opciation with thc
Doublc Action vcision.
Thc SWINCA-RIC Singlc Action is
dcsigncd using modulai units. Thc main
componcnts consist of thc box-to-box sub-
stiuctuic that accommodatcs thc diaw-
woiks, thc closing unit, thc diill linc iccl,
and othci componcnts.
Thcic is also a swing into which thc
ciown block, thc top diivc systcm with
guidc dolly, and thc multifunctional giip
havc bccn intcgiatcd. This swing may also
bc fittcd with a hoist which will cnablc
snubbing unit opciations.
Bccausc thc diawwoiks is installcd within
thc lowci box, thc ccntci of giavity is at a
vciy low lcvcl adding stability to thc iig.
D O U B L E A C T I O N U P G R A D E
Iiom this basic vcision it is possiblc to
upgiadc to thc SWINCA-RIC Doublc
Action vcision.
Thc Doublc Action vcision piovidcs a
multi-task diilling iig foi pcimancnt opci-
ation that can pcifoim woikovci jobs as
wcll as snubbing opciations. Thc multi-
functional conccpt of thc Doublc Action
vcision savcs timc bccausc:
Thcic is no waiting timc to biing thc top
diivc into thc uppci position,
Thc uppci conncction to thc top diivc is
biought into thc othci wing duiing thc
diilling modc,
Pipc handling opciations can bc caiiicd
out whilc diilling is in piogicss,
In casc of tcchnical faults in onc of thc
wings thc othci wing can bc uscd to
cnsuic a continuous diilling opciation,
If two BOP stacks aic installcd, two
holcs can bc fittcd fiom onc location.
Bcntcc offcis thc iig in modcls that can bc
powcicd by gcnciatoi scts oi by cxtcinal
powci supply fiom thc clcctiical giid. Vai-
ious Bcntcc pipc handling systcms can bc
intcgiatcd into thc SWINCA-RIC singlc
action and doublc action vcisions.
It is, foi instancc, possiblc to pick up tubu-
lais and tianspoit thcm to thc diilling iig
fiom thc hoiizontal oi thc vcitical posi-
tion. Thc Bcntcc Mcchanizcd Catwalk
Systcm oi a convcntional pipc iack can
also bc intcgiatcd.Thc iig can also bc uscd
in combination with Bcntcc Mud Ticat-
mcnt oi UBD Systcms. I
New Bentec rig design is versatile and expandable
New rig design can be used for a variety of jobs
including workover and snubbing operations.