Performance Report

SWACO BEM-600 Shakers Promote High ROP, Produce Exceptionally Dry Cuttings

“Installation of the BEM-600 shakers has allowed us

to increase our circulation rates and use screen mesh
sizes that we had not been able to use with other
shakers. The new units have performed exceptionally
well with little or no screen failure.”
Jan Fredrik Dale, Rig Manager — Borgland Dolphin

Well information Location: Norwegian North Sea

Rig name: Borgland Dolphin
Rig type: Semisubmersible
Intervals, bit diameter, in.: 121⁄4 and 81⁄2
Interval lengths, ft (m): 7,362 (2,244) and 1,175 (358)
Time to drill intervals, days: 4 and 3
Circulation rate per interval,
gal/min (l/min): 1,110 (4,200) and 518 (1,960)
Instantaneous ROP, ft/hr (m/hr): 548 (167)
Formations: Sandstone and claystone
Mud type: NOVATEC synthetic

Background The rig had previously tested one
BEM-600 shaker to confirm its
suitability for the planned drilling
program. As a result of the success-
ful test, the customer ordered five
BEM-600 shakers to be installed
on the rig.
Installation began in September
2002, and a SWACO engineer was
present on the rig in December
2002 to record the performance
of the shakers during the first
121⁄4-in. and 81⁄2-in. intervals.

Equipment The 121⁄4-in. interval was started
performance with 20-mesh scalping screens
on each shaker and 84-mesh HC
MAGNUM screens on the lower
decks. It soon became apparent
that the shakers could easily use
finer screens on their lower decks,
so 165-mesh HC MAGNUM screens
were installed. After drilling 656 ft
(200 m) the shakers were fitted
with 200-mesh HC MAGNUM
screens and after another 656 ft
Results: (200 m) those were switched for
230-mesh HC MAGNUM screens.
• Used 230-mesh HC
MAGNUM screens for
These finer screens were used for
most of the well the remaining 5,905 ft (1,800 m)
• Exceptionally long drilled in this interval.
screen life Beach lengths were maintained
• Very dry cuttings at approximately 1.6 ft (0.5 m)
discharged from the front of the shakers, and
(ROC 6.5 to 9.2 g/kg) deck angles were kept at no higher
than 1.5 degrees.
The 81⁄2-in. interval was drilled
with 20-mesh scalping screens over
230-mesh HC MAGNUM screens for
the entire section.
Although only four of the five
available shakers were used at any
given time during this section, it
was noted by rig operations person-
nel that three shakers would have
been more than adequate to effec-
tively process the fluid.
Beach lengths continued to be
maintained at 1.6 ft (0.5 m) from
the front of the shakers and deck
angles adjusted between 1.2 and
1.5 degrees.
Screen life During the drilling of the two inter-
vals, a total of 10 20-mesh scalping
screens were used. None of these
screens showed any signs of wear
at the end of the well and were
stored for use on the next well.
A total of 20 84-mesh HC MAGNUM
and 20 165-mesh MAGNUM screens
were used and changed out to
allow finer mesh sizes to be used.
None of these screens showed any
signs of wear and were stored for
later use.
Cuttings Previous testing has demonstrated
condition that balanced-elliptical-motion
shakers discharge drier cuttings
than shakers using other motion
patterns.
Composite samples gathered
from top and bottom screens
during the drilling of the 121⁄4-in.
Results • The operator used 230-mesh
HC MAGNUM screens for most
of the well.
• Exceptionally long screen life.
Summary The installation of the BEM-600 shak-
ers allowed the customer to maximize
ROP while efficiently processing the
circulating mud system.
The screen sizes that were utilized
were finer than on previous wells,
and resulted in significantly
improved solids control on the rig.
The shakers worked well within
their capacity at all times and
Questions? If you’d like to know more about
the BEM-600 shaker or MAGNUM
We’ll be glad to screens, please contact your SWACO
answer them. representative.
This information is supplied solely for informational purposes and SWACO makes no guar-
antees or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the accuracy and use of
this data. All product warranties and guarantees shall be governed by the Standard Terms
of Sale or Standard Terms of Equipment Rental.
©2003 SWACO, A Division of M-I L.L.C. All rights reserved.
™ BEM-600 is a trademark of SWACO, A Division of M-I L.L.C.
® MAGNUM is a registered trademark of SWACO, A Division of M-I L.L.C.
® SWACO is a registered trademark of M-I L.L.C.
SW-030304 2.5M 3/03 Litho in U.S.A.
Of the 20 200-mesh HC MAGNUM
screens, only two were damaged.
One of these failures was the result
of mishandling and this screen was
repaired for future re-use. The other
damaged screen was discarded.
The major part of the well was
drilled with a total of 21 230-mesh
HC MAGNUM screens. Only six of
these screens were damaged, and
only one had to be discarded due
to excessive wear.
interval were found to discharge
cuttings with Retained-Oil-on-
Cuttings (ROC) values averaging
between 5.7 and 7.3 g/kg by dry
weight.
In the 81⁄2-in. interval, the ROC val-
ues were between 8.0 and 9.2 g/kg.
• Very dry cuttings discharged
(ROC 6.5 to 9.2 g/kg).
discharged cuttings that were much
drier than on previous wells with
other shakers.
Screen life experienced over the
seven days of operation was excel-
lent, with only two screens discarded
while drilling the well.
No downtime was recorded for
the shakers, and no whole mud
losses were recorded at any time.
A Division of M-I L.L.C.
A Smith/Schlumberger Company
P.O. Box 42842
Houston, Texas 77242-2842
Tel: 281·988·1866
1·800·654·0660
Fax: 281·988·1888
www.midf.com