Rig Selection

Rig Selection
Learning Objectives

You should be able to:

List types of rigs
List selection criteria for various rig types
State site preparation requirement prior to mobilizing
a rig onto a location

Rig sizing

Rig Selection
Rig Selection
Rig selection involves effort of many groups in the up
stream sector.

A typical scenario of actions performed leading to rig

selection are as follows :

Geologist develops a prospect and define the

desired well location(s)
Surveys or spots exact location of well on land or

coordinate of well location offshore

Land acquisition for land based operation/location
of well/site preparation
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Rig Selection
Rig Selection

Water depth, seabed soil condition, near

seabed seismic results
Drilling engineer selects the rig
Drilling rig owner (Contractor) defines the rig

sizing requirements, rig weight, loads to be

handled, drilling fluid volumes, rig power

requirements depending upon type of well

i.e Exploratory well and development well
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Rig Selection
Rig Selection Process

Rig Selection
Rig Selection Process

Rig Selection
Rig Selection Process

Rig Selection
Rig Types

Drilling Rigs can be divided

into two main groups;
Marine Rigs used for drilling
on water
Land Rigs used for drilling on

land
Cable Tool Rigs no longer in
operation are used for drilling

shallow wells on land

CABLE TOOL RIGS
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Rig Selection
Marine Rigs

Drilling rigs used offshore are generally termed

marine rigs
Marine rigs are further grouped into:
Bottom supported rigs. Rigs rest on sea floor or on
pads built on the sea floor
Floating rigs where drilling operations are conducted
while the rig is in floating position
Drilling rig mounted on barge. Typically used for
drilling in 8-10 feet of water depth and self contained

Rig Selection
Rig Selection Process
Swamp
Barge
Land Rig

10 ~ 30 ft

Tender
Assisted

Semisubmersable

Drillship

450 ft max 30 ~ 400 ft

7500 ft max

10000 ft max

Jack-up

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Rig Selection
Rig Selection Process ~ Land and Shallow Waters
Jack-up
Land
Rig

Tender
Assisted

Swamp
Barge

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Rig Selection
Rig Selection Process ~ Deep Water

Semisubmersable

Drillship

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Rig Selection
Rig Selection Process ~ Deep Water Installations

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Major Rig selection criteria are as follows;
Water Depth rating
Rig capacity, bulk capacity, liquid and mud mixing

capacity
Derrick, sub structure, drilling envelope
Physical rig size and weight
Stability in rough water
Duration of drilling program
Type of drilling i.e Exploration or Development
Availability and cost
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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Water Depth rating
Primary consideration for Rig selection
Selection based on Bottom Supported Units and
Floating Rigs
Size of rig with respect to Drilling Equipment Set
(DES)
Commonly is never an issue of selection. Marine Rigs

are over-specified to meet a wide range of depth rating

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Bottom Supported Units consists of

Jack Up rigs
Limited to 400 feet water depth. Typical water depth from minimum 25
feet to maximum 300ft
Most widely used marine rig for both stand alone drilling of exploratory
wells and multi-wells development drilling from jackets

Common used independent legs cantilever jack-ups which can

cover 9 15 wells on a jacket or small platform depends upon
the drilling envelop. The derrick and substructure is skidded out
on cantilever.
Individual legs penetrate into below sea bed
Popular designs are Baker Marine 300C, Marathon Le Tourneau
116C and Friede Goldman L780 mod II
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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Bottom Supported Units consists of (continued)
Jack Up rigs

Mat type Jack up the drilling hull is supported by legs from large
mat/pontoon that rest on sea floor. Its used for very soft sea floor soil
condition

Slot type jack up rig where drilling of wells done through the slot in
the hull of the rig

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection ~ Jack-up

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and
Selection

Bottom Supported Unit

consist of Jack Up rigs

Jack up rigs are self

contained and most are
for drilling depths of
25,000 feet

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Rig Selection
Jack-up Positioning

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Rig Selection
Jack-up Positioning

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Rig Selection
Jack-up Risks

Punch Through

Effect of RPD
(Rack Phase Differential)
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Rig Selection
Jack-up Risks

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Rig Selection
Jack-up Risks ~ Old Foot Prints

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Rig Selection
Rig Specifications

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Bottom Supported Units consist of

Platform rigs
Long term development drilling
projects from sufficiently large

platform (> 15 wells)

Self contained, complete rig with
facilities are installed on the

platform
Cost effective and limited only by
water depth limitation of the
platform
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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection

Bottom Supported Units consists of

Platform rigs
Variation is a Tender Assisted Platform Rig where
Drilling Equipment Set (DES) is positioned on the
platform. Prime movers, living quarters, rig pumps,

mud tanks on a floating tender anchored along side

Water depth limited by the anchoring capacity of the
tender

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Rig Selection
Tender Assisted Rig

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Floating rigs (Floaters)

Water depth capability slowly increased to 7000 feet

Floating rigs do not rest on the sea floor

Not restricted by rigs leg length

Drillship and semi-submersible rigs

Different operating characteristics

Drillships are usually self propelled

Semi submersible have lower hull. Below sea level and ballasted
to maximize rig stability. More stable than drillship and some are
self propelled

Lower variable deck loading than drillship

Specially designed for petroleum operation hence more costly

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Semi Submersible

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection

Drill Ship

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Floating rigs
1. Deepwater capability using dynamic positioning system
(DPS). Anchoring systems are not required

2. DPS maintains rig position by thruster and acoustic

beacons.
3. Power is provided by;

AC (alternating current) generator with silicon controlled

rectified (SCR) to provide DC to the drilling rig. [AC generator
SCR

DC motor

Rig component]

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection

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Rig Selection
Other Considerations
Other Considerations for Offshore Location Are
Check for subsea pipelines, marine cables,
telephone lines, shipwreck
Usually sea bed features e.g slumping, steep
inclines, unusual debris at sea floor
Very soft sea bed soil condition, low anchorholding capability
Shallow gas

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
If problems cannot be resolved, alternate rig site should be selected site
survey studies proposed for Jack up leg investigation are as follows;

Side scan sonar for sea bed features, debris, boulder and pipeline

High resolution shallow seismic for shallow gas. Correlation with

soil bore data

Soil bore cores analysis to deepest expected penetration and for

platform installation

Penetrometer usually 3 feet in length to estimate undrained

strength of sea bed clays/formation for Jack up leg penetration
analysis

Echo sounder for water depth determination

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Rig Selection
Common Foundation Problems

Some common foundation problems are;

Punch through during preload
Inadequate leg length

Scouring due to strong seabed currents and soft soil

Seafloor instability
Unable to extract legs

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Rig Selection
Rig Sizing
Most offshore rigs are rated /sized to drill well depth
of 25000 ft. One rig can be used to drill various type
of well and well depths
Functionally, Offshore rigs becomes over specified
and rig sizing is not an issue
Rig sizing are more pertinent to land drilling.
Specifications are tailored to suit drilling well depths
and well condition

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Rig Selection
Land Rigs

Land Rigs are further categorized depending upon;

Conventional (unitised) rigs

Trailer mounted rigs
Helicopter transportable rigs (heli-rigs)
Desert rigs

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Rig Selection
Land Rig ~ Trailer Mounted Rig

Generally uses telescopic mast

Restricted to light work and medium depth drilling

to 10,000 feet

Generally mounted on a truck or large trailer.

Available in drive-in or back in unit

Low rig down, move and rig up time increase

efficiency and lower cost

Generally used, for land workover and well

servicing jobs

Usually limited in mast capacity (350 kips), limited

rig equipment capacities

Some rigs have doubles masts.

Limited height of rig floor require cellar to

accommodate height of higher rated BOP stack
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Rig Selection
Conventional Land rigs
Largest land rigs are available with derricks or big jack
knife mast
Rated for drilling 10,000 to 35,000 feet well depths
Rig components are torn down and moved individually

on trucks due to size

Rig mounted on a sub-structure to allow use of tall, high
pressure rated BOP stacks, large pipe stand-back

capacity
Most rigs have 142 feet derrick or mast and able to pull
(3) joint stands of drill string
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Rig Selection
Rig Site Preparation

After well site located, rig site preparation depends

upon;
Onshore : Marsh,terrain/topography

Offshore

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Rig Selection
Rig Site Preparation
Onshore Rig site Preparation

Well location usually vertical on sub-surface target location

Land survey staking the well

Access road, land acquisition and land compensation, permits

Soil survey to check marshy or soft soil to take load of the rig

Require an area of 350 feet x 420 feet area to be cleared

Water source for drilling water well

Sometimes major civil engineering work is required

Barge rig for marshy location require dredging channel to bring

barge in

Filling up or small platform to take rig

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Rig Selection
Rig Power Requirements
Main power requirements of a drilling rig are
the drawworks, rotating system, rig mud
pumps and power for rig ancilliaries

Modern rigs are designed to meet minimum

rig power requirements to run drawworks.
Both pumps running in parallel and the
topdrive/rotary table in operations. These are
driven by DC motors

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Rig Selection
Rig Site Preparation

Rig ancilliaries consist of centrifugal mud pumps to run mud

treatment equipment, rig lighting, air compressor motors,

BOP accumulator and etc. Usually they require AC current
on land rigs and these power requirement are met by AC
generators from the utility house

Modern rigs offshore has prime movers driving AC

generators where the power is transmitted to the drilling
equipment DC generators via a AC-SCR system (SCR).

Alternating current silicon controlled rectifier system. Older

land rigs have mechanical engine compounds or have DC
generator driving the DC motors called a DC-DC system

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Mechanical Drive System
Commonly used for trailer-mounted rigs of medium

depth drilling range

Two and three prime movers (diesel engines) are
compounded by chain, gears and belts to drive

drawworks and pumps

Torque converters at the engine output are used to
reduce shock loading on engines. Provides torque
multiplication and constant power output
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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
A TYPICAL AC-SCR-DC SYSTEM
As shown in schematically below :

Prime Mover (s)

Rig Ancilliaries
(AC motors)

AC generator

Drawwork Drive
DC motor

SCR system

Rig Pump Drive

DC motor

Top Drive
DC motor

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Total Rig power required at the Prime Mover can be presented by ;
HP rig = HP H + 2 x HP P + HP RT
where
HP rig
HP H
HP P
HP RT

=
=
=
=

Total rig power required at the SCR power outlet

Power required by the hoisting system at the input of the drawworks
Power required by each pump at the input
Power required by the rotary table or top drive system input

Assuming the SCR and electrical transmission system efficiency at 0.90 (range
0.85 - 0.90)
HP RT

HP engine =

______

= 1.11 HP RT

0.90
Total HP required = HP engine x 1/

where

= efficiency of the prime mover

API standard 7B-11C defines
diesel engine performance
variation resulting from harsh
environment
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Rig Selection
Hoisting Power Requirements

Hoisting system provides the means for the vertical

movement of the pipe in the well
It consists of the drawworks, crown and travelling
blocks, wireline and ancilliary equipment such as hooks,
bails and elevators
The horse power required at the Travelling Blocks can
be computed by
HPTB =

LxV
33,000

Where
B

L = heaviest hook load (lbs)

V = hoisting rate (ft/min)
normally assumed 93ft/min
B=friction factor of the block
and tackle system

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
As with all mechanical system, the block/tackle system is not friction
less i.e B < 1.0
Friction factor

= (0.98)n where n = number of sheave pulse

The following table indicates friction

No of lines

6
8
10
12

0.886
0.850
0.817
0.785

for various pull system ;

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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
Drawworks reels in wireline as the pipe is lifted and thus is made up of
drum to spool the wireline, shafts and chain driving the drum
A typical drawworks consists of four shafts and five chains and
efficiency is given by
D

= (0.98)n

Therefore

where n = number of chains and shafts

D

= (0.98) 4+5 = 0.834

Therefore HP H horsepower required at the input of drawworks

HP H = HP TB =
D

____L x V_____
33,000 x B x D
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Rig Selection
Marine Rig Sizing and Selection
The hook load L is normally taken as the heaviest casing load in
mud. Usually 9-5/8 casing represents the heaviest string.
Therefore ;
L = buoyant unit weight of casing in mud x length of casing
Mud Buoyancy factor is calculated by
B

=1-

m/

65.50

L = B F x W C x H where

where
F

= mud weight in ppg

= mud buoyancy factor

WC = unit weight of casing Ibs/ft

H = total length of casing run (feet)

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Rig Selection
Power Requirements for Rotary System

Rotating system impacts rotating action to the drillstring and bit

Rotary system consists of the kelly, rotary table and drive bushing
Top Drive system consists of the top drive (DC motor and gear
box), drill string and bit
Rotating horse power requirements depend on speed of rotation,
hole friction, angle, depth straightness. Basically it can be given by
HP RT = T x N
5250

where

HP RT = rotating system HP (BHP)

T = rotary torque required (ft-lbs)
N = rotary speed (rpm)

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Rig Selection
Power Requirements for Top Drive System
Power Requirements for Top Drive System

For modern day rigs drilling complex wells with top drive system.
The horse power required can be calculated based on extreme
condition
HP RT = T x N
5250
= 35,000 x 120
5250
= 800 BHP

where

= rotary torque. Assume maximum

torque rating of a 5-1/2 drillpipe

with 35,000 ft-lbs
N = RPM. Assume at 120 rpm

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Rig Selection
Power Requirements for Pumps

The mud pumps is the heart of a rig circulating system

Mud pumps are designed for pressure output, flowrate and

horsepower requirements

Power required by rig pump can be calculated by

HHP (Hydraulic Horse Power) = P x Q

1714

Where

HHP = pump output at fluid end in BHP

P = total pressure drop in the system (psi)
Q = pumping rate (GPM)

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Rig Selection
Derrick or Mast and Substructure

Derrick or a mast provides the vertical height necessary for the

hoisting system to raise and lower the pipe
API standards 4A provides specs for derrick and API standard
4D provides specs for mast type structure
Derrick or Mast must be able to handle /support all loads,
including drilling load and weight of pipe set in the derrick
Derrick must be able to withstand wind loads acting horizontally
on the pipe racked in it
Selection for a derrick based on whether rig usage i.e drilling
activities or workover and servicing

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Rig Selection
Derrick or Mast and Substructure

Drilling requires pipe to be handled in stands (3 joint

of connected pipe is about 90 feet in length)
Height of derrick is roughly ascertained by [pipe
length 90 feet + 25 feet for travelling block, hook, and
bails + 3 feet stick up above rotary table + 5 feet for
buffer below crown block] These will total at about
123 feet

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Rig Selection
Derrick or Mast
The schematic below shows API 4A Derrick size classification

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Rig Selection
Derrick or Mast
Table 1 provides the General Dimension of Derrick size

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Rig Selection
Derrick or Mast

Modern day Derrick or mast for drilling

activities require additional height to

accommodate Top Drive System
Most widely used Derrick size is API 19
which provides 146 feet height and 30 feet

square base with pipe racking capacity of

160 stands of 5 drill pipe

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Rig Selection
Derrick or Mast
Derrick or Mast for workover or well servicing activities
handle tubings which are limber and tend to bend due to
its own weight. Pipe are handled in

Double (2 joints of connected pipe about 60 feet in

length)
Single (1 joint of pipe about 30 feet in length)
More time for pulling and running in pipes
Normal heights are 90 feet (for handling pipe in singles)
and 102 feet (for handling pipes in doubles)
Suitable for uneven terrains
Small rig site preparation required
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Rig Selection
Substructure

Sub structure provides the height for the blowout preventer stack
required

Sub structure similar to the derrick must be able to support all

loads on rotary, weight of pipe set back racked in the derrick

Provides the derrick floor space for pipe set back and people to

work safely

On offshore rigs, especially for drilling from platform must have

sufficient longitudinal and traverse width to allow the drilling unit
to skid from one well to another over entire drilling envelope of
wells

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Rig Selection
Derrick and Substructure Loading
Derrick load is defined by the heaviest hook load that can
be handled with proper safety factor
Effective derrick load can be evaluated by
F DE = 4L (N + 4)
4N

Where
F DE
N

= Effective Derrick load, lbs

= number of lines string up
over the block
= Heaviest hook load, lbs

The heaviest hook load L is usually taken as the heaviest

casing load in mud as given in earlier section
Wind load is created by wind acting horizontally on the
pipe set back in the derrick and is calculated by

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Rig Selection
Derrick and Sub structure loading

Wind load is created by wind acting horizontally on the

pipe set back in the derrick and is calculated by
Lw = 0.004 V2 A
Where

L w = wind load, lbs

V = wind velocity, mph
A = area of pipe set back

Please refer to Table for wind load areas

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