OMSCO Industries, A Shaw Industries Company

Chapter 2

Care & Maintenance

E. Drill String Inspections

1. When:
- Determine the number of rotating hours based on
historical information
- Drilling conditions (use of top drive, horizontal
drilling)
- Rate of drill string failure can be determined to a
real extent by keeping a record of the above
points

2. Prevention of drill string failures

- Software available to provide inspection
frequency guidelines
- Education of personnel to recognize potential
problems

3. Type of inspection
- Inspection company should use guidelines
contained in API RP7G and API Spec 7 and Spec
5D
- Drilling contractor should supervise all
inspections
- Inspect pipe for types of drilling conditions
tubulars were subjected to i.e. jarring or
downhole makeup torque, and how connections
are made-up and broke out
- Inspect for OD wear. API allows 20% wall
thickness of any part of the tube body to remain
Premium class

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- Use a Go/No Go gauge when rolling the joint

along for inspection
- Electromagnetic inspection can detect surface
cracks
- Inspect for ID wear. Can be done by use of a
Boroscope. This tool can examine the bore of the
tube to check the condition of the plastic coating
and the amount of corrosion in the upset area
- Use of an Ultrasonic tool can measure the wall
thickness. This area is wear washouts sometimes
occur
- Ultrasonic End area inspection-If required this
method will detect cracks on the inside surface of
the pipe
- Magnetic particle inspection-If required this
method will aid in inspecting the of the slip area,
the first four feet from the Tool Joint box.
- Inspection of Tool Joint-to monitor/measure the
following:
- OD and length of the Tool Joint
- Shoulder condition
- Thread condition
- Bad/getting worse, boxes and pins
- Inspection of OD and the length is most
important part of tool joint inspection
- TJ can be rebuilt if Box is 9” or longer/and the
Pin is 7 inches or longer.
- Check TJ to find damage caused by thread
galling, stretched Pins, swelled Boxes, shoulder
seal washouts
- Defective Refacing- Watch for galling on Pin
shoulder. Happens quicker here than on Box
- Stamping of pipe-Inspector should always do this
and contractor should always ask where said pipe
has been stamped.

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- Drill Collars-Magnetize the collar. Run

ultraviolet light of thread. Spray on Magna-Glo
so crack will stand out. If cracked grind down 2-3
millimeters to verify its not a surface crack
- Refacing-The same procedures used for drill pipe
are used to Reface drill collars. Consult API
RP7G for details.
- Color Coding-After each inspection each joint
should be coded as:
- Premium-Two White bands painted near the pin
- Class Two pipe-has a single yellow band
- Class three pipe-has a single orange band
- Junk pipe-has a red band near the pin

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Drill String Inspections

The purpose of inspecting the Drill String is to determine its condition and whether it can
be used again. But in order to make the best use of the inspection process, the rig
management must make several important decisions.

Scheduling Inspections

First, how often should inspections be scheduled? Drilling Superintendents and

Toolpushers often schedule Drill String Inspections when drilling is finished or at
predetermined times based on the number of rotating hours. Scheduling may also depend
on some logistical factors, such as how long it takes to transport the string to a pipe yard
and have it back on the rig in time for spudding. On offshore multiwell platforms,
however, skidding the rig to the next slot only takes a short time. In this case, Drilling
Superintendents will use their experience and knowledge of the drilling conditions as
well as the number of rotating hours to decide when to inspect the Drill String.

The severe conditions that Horizontal Drilling and, to some extent, the extensive use of
Top Drive backreaming impose on the Drill String are additional factors to consider. It is
simply not possible to set an exact inspection schedule that fits all situations.

Recently, programmers have developed computer software to provide inspection

frequency guidelines. Nevertheless, number of rotating hours, drilling conditions, and
the rate of Drill String failure are likely to remain the primary standards for scheduling
Drill String Inspections for some time.

Type of Inspection

Next, the type of inspection must be determined; more specifically, what the inspection
should cover. The problem here is that most drilling personnel do not know enough
about Drill Pipe inspection to answer this question. So either we rely on established
Santa Fe guidelines, or we leave it up to the Inspector to determine the scope of the
inspection.

The inspection company will most likely propose using the guidelines contained in API
RP7G and API Spec 7 and Spec 5D. These guidelines for inspection and classification
have been successful for several years, and API updates them periodically. However,
following API guidelines does not guarantee a quality inspection. The quality of the
inspection depends mostly on the individual Inspector, his experience, and his
understanding of the customer's needs. Read on to understand how to supervise a third-
party inspection to ensure quality and thoroughness at a minimum cost.

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The Job of the Drilling Contractor

A Drilling Contractor Representative should supervise all inspections. If the objective is

a thorough, quality inspection, we must either put all our trust in the Inspector or
supervise the inspection.

First, ask the Inspector for all certificates and qualifications to see that they are up to date
and cover the inspection techniques needed for the job. These may include certification
for electromagnetic or ultrasonic inspections and the use of any other type of specialized
tools.

One Drilling Contractor Representative should be familiar with the inspection

requirements and procedures outlined in API RP7G, API Spec 7, and API Spec 5D. This
is where we normally fall short of our objective. In a normal Drill String Inspection, the
pipe is laid down for inspection, whether on the rig itself or in the pipe storage yard. The
company management then hires an inspection company. The inspection team does its
job. They reject some pipe, reclassify other pipe, and do a whole lot of straightening,
refacing, and painting. At the end of this process, the Inspector arrives at the office with
a service ticket in hand for a busy Drilling Foreman to sign. The Foreman might ask, just
out of curiosity, “Was it pretty bad?", and that's it. The inspection team packs their
equipment and the inspection is finished. Now, of course, we have to trust that
everything is okay and that our Drill String is in good enough condition to make it
through the next well. This scenario happens over and over again, throughout the world.

The one person who ought to find out why a lot of pipe was junked or reclassified or a lot
of Drill Collars were sent to town for repair is the person who is responsible for paying
the bill. But most of the time we fall short here.

Of course, supervising an inspection does not mean standing all day long behind the
inspection crew when we have a rig to run. But it does mean making sure that the
Inspector follows all the inspection sequences properly and verifies the accuracy of the
equipment throughout the inspection. It also means communicating with the inspection
team. If we tell them about some rough or unusual conditions that Drill String was
subjected to, such as jarring or Downhole Makeup Torque, we point them in the right
direction. At the same time, we motivate them to check the Connections especially well.

A thorough, quality inspection is more important than ever in this age of turnkey and
incentive drilling, where downhole failures cause enormous financial losses.

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Choose the Shortest Route to Rejection

The best and most economical inspection is one that seeks the shortest route to rejection.
This means that whatever defect that would cause a joint to be junked or set aside for
repair should be identified first, thereby eliminating any further inspection and cost. This
is not easy because there are many kinds of defects to look for. However, there are some
basic rules to follow that will help focus on the most likely areas to look for defects.

First, the age of the pipe provides some useful clues. If the pipe is several years old,
perhaps eight or nine years, the chances are high that the pipe's ID has corroded
substantially and that the Tool Joints are very close to the minimum length allowed due
to previous wear. A quick measurement of the Tool Joint's length is the shortest route to
rejecting old pipe.

On the other hand, Tool Joint damage is usually the biggest problem with fairly new pipe,
three years old or less. For pipe that is between three and eight years old, a combination
of tube body condition and Tool Joint length should be considered.

Inspecting the Tube Body

The bottom line in terms of Drill Pipe life is the tube body. While the Tool Joints can be
repaired or replaced, the tube body cannot. Therefore, the condition of the tube body is
usually the reason for junking Drill Pipe.

Inspecting for OD Wear

Basically, API guidelines allow for only 20% wear in the wall thickness of any part of the
tube body to remain premium class. This guideline applies whether the loss in wall
thickness was due to erosion, corrosion, or local damage such as slip cuts.

The quickest way to check for wear is to use a Go/No Go Gauge when rolling the joint
along the inspection rack. The Inspector should also check for straightness and separate
bent pipe.

Electromagnetic Inspection

Electromagnetic inspection detects surface cracks on the outside of the tube body.
Basically it consists of creating a magnetic field in the pipe and passing detectors over the
magnetized area. Irregularities in the surface of the steel cause the magnetic field to jump
over a crack or pit. Transducers that are sensitive to the magnetic field convert them to a
small electrical signal. This signal moves an ink pen against a strip of paper called a strip
chart. The movement of the pen traces a spike on the chart for each defect. The height of
the spike corresponds to the severity of the crack or gouge in the steel surface.

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To calibrate this equipment, the Inspector uses a piece of pipe (or calibration block) that
has defects of known depth. The Inspector should recheck the calibration at least every
50 joints and after every time the equipment has been turned off for more than about a
half hour. When supervising an inspection, one of the questions a Santa Fe
Representative can ask is, “What are the Inspector's calibration procedures and where are
the inspectors qualification certificates?"

Inspecting the Tube ID

If the tube body has passed the OD inspection with the Go/No Go Gauge and the
electromagnetic scan, the next step is to assess the inside of the pipe. This is done with a
tool called a Boroscope. A Boroscope is essentially a pole with a light and a magnifying
lens on the end for looking at the inside of pipe. A visual examination of the bore of a
joint of Drill Pipe will reveal the condition of the plastic coating and the amount of
corrosion in the upset areas (figure 4-66).

Next, the Inspector takes wall thickness measurements with an Ultrasonic Tool in the
most important part of the tube body, such as the end of the internal upsets. This is the
area where a washout is most likely to occur. Washouts here are caused by a crack that
forms in the bottom of a corrosion pit, where the wall is the thinnest and stresses are the
highest. If heavy corrosion is found here, the inspection crew should remove all loose
scale and rust with power metal-bore brushes. They may need to take several readings
with an Ultrasonic Tool before they can determine the minimum wall thickness,
especially if the surface is severely pitted.

Figure 4-66 Looking at the ID of a pipe with a

Boroscope will reveal the condition of the
plastic coating and the amount of corrosion
in the upset areas.

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Ultrasonic End-Area Inspection

If the pipe has failed at the internal upsets during drilling or if the upset areas of the Tool
Joint are heavily corroded, additional inspection methods are probably needed. One of
the optional inspection techniques available today is the ultrasonic end-area inspection.
The tool for this inspection, which was developed by Tuboscope Vetco, detects cracks on
the inside surface of the pipe that conventional electromagnetic equipment can miss.

The operator uses the Ultrasonic End-Area Tool to scan the area being inspected. It takes
several passes to cover the full circumference of the end area. Typically the inspection
covers an area extending at least 18 inches back from the end of the internal upset runout.
An audible signal tells the Technician when a crack is detected, who makes a strip chart
recording only when the signal sounds.

Magnetic Particle Inspection

Another optional technique is magnetic particle inspection. The Inspector magnetizes the
area to be examined and then either sprinkles on dry iron particles or wets the surface
with a liquid containing iron particles. The particles tend to gather around a surface
defect. Magnetic particle inspection is a must in the slip area, the first four feet from the
Box Tool Joint.

Inspecting the Tool Joints

Tool Joint inspections are visual and are relatively straightforward. This is where the
Drilling Contractor Representative needs to exercise some supervision in order to prevent
unnecessary repairs such as refacing. Tool Joint inspections measure or look for the
following:

 the OD and length of the Tool Joint

 shoulder condition

 thread condition

 stretched Pins, swelled Boxes, and cracks of any kind.

Inspecting the OD and ID

Measuring the OD and the length is the most important part of a Tool Joint inspection.
Pipe with short Tool Joints should not be sent back to the rig or put back in service
(figure 4-67). A rule of thumb is to cull out Boxes that are less than 8 inches long and
Pins that are less than 6 inches long.

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If the Tool Joint's OD is at or near the minimum allowed, it can be rebuilt if the Box is 9
inches or longer and the Pin is 7 inches or longer and the tube body is in good shape. The
inspection crew measures Tool Joint OD with OD Calipers to the nearest 1/16 inch. A
Go/No Go Gauge should not be used for this purpose.

After measuring the OD and length of the Tool Joint, the next thing to look for is damage
that would cause the Tool Joint to need recutting. This includes thread galling, stretched
Pins, swelled Boxes, shoulder seal washouts, broken threads, or excessive refacing.

A Lead Gauge is the proper tool for measuring pin stretching. Thread Profile Gauges can
show thread wear or stretching, but a Lead Gauge measures the stretch much more
accurately, in thousandths of an inch over a 2-inch length. For example, on an NC50
Connection, the maximum stretch allowed is 6/1000 inch over 2 inches.

The most effective way to measure Box swelling is by measuring the counterbore
diameter. Checking the counterbore of the Box's diameter is necessary only if the Pin is
stretched and the Tool Joint's OD is close to the minimum allowed for premium class.

Figure 4-67 The tong space on this Pin Tool Joint is

insufficient, which leads to a damaged
shoulder and could cause the Rotary Tongs
to slip.

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Defective Refacing

Excessive or improper refacing is a key area to look for during Tool Joint inspections.
API allows only 1/16 inch of metal to be removed from the face of the shoulder before
the Tool Joint has to be recut. Occasionally, inexperienced personnel do the refacing.
They may remove too much metal or remove more from one side of the shoulder than the
other (figure 4-68).

A positive way to identify this problem is when several more Pin shoulders than Box
shoulders are galled. Box shoulders tend to become damaged more often than Pin
shoulders, so they are also refaced more often. This increases the probability that Box
shoulders will be refaced improperly, causing the Pin shoulders to gall. A Drilling
Contractor Representative should be aware of the consequences of poor refacing
procedures and ensure crews are trained in proper refacing techniques. If the
Representative does not correct the problem, the damage will continue and more Tool
Joints will have to be recut unnecessarily, shortening the life of the Drill Pipe.

Shoulders Not Parallel

Due to
Improper Refacing

Figure 4-68. Improper refacing technique will result in

more material being removed from one side
of the shoulder than the other.

Stamping the Pipe

Finally, one more service that the Drilling Contractor Representative should ask of the
inspection team is to restamp the pipe grade and code number on the Tool Joint's milled
slot. These identifications will fade out from wear and corrosion, and they need to be
periodically restamped.

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Black Light Drill Collar Connection Inspections

A black-light, or ultraviolet, inspection detects cracks in the Drill Collar Connections.

After magnetizing the Connection, the Inspector runs an ultraviolet light over the entire
surface of the thread. The Inspector wears a hood while doing this to keep out daylight.
A solution called Magna-Glo sprayed on the thread beforehand will make a crack stand
out as a bright yellowish-green line. If the Inspector finds a crack, it must be ground
down 2 or 3 millimeters to make sure it is not just a surface scratch. The Drilling
Contractor Representative should verify how far down the crack is ground, since
recutting Connections with minor cracks unnecessarily is both expensive and logistically
difficult.

Safety Concerns

One last thing regarding the inspection of BHA Connections. The inspection team should
not perform ultraviolet light or magnetic particle inspection of BHA Connections on the
rig floor, while pulling out of the hole, or while running into it. First, this practice is
dangerous. Rarely will the team be working under the best operational and safety
conditions. Good drilling practices call for minimizing the time the BHA is in the Rotary
Table. This is an important well control consideration. Second, Inspectors may use
equipment that is not explosion-proof.

Because of the short time available to inspect the Connections, the team may be tempted
to omit some aspect of the inspection procedure, such as thoroughly cleaning the last
engaged threads in Box Connections. So unless it is an emergency, inspect the BHA
Connections only after laying down the Subs, Drill Collars, and other components on
deck or Pipe Racks.

Inspecting the Connections

The rest of a Drill Collar inspection follows most of the same guidelines as those for Tool
Joint Connections. Lead Gauges must be used to measure the stretching of threads. This
is very important because stretched threads are an early sign of excessive torque.

All damaged thread Connections that cannot be repaired on the rig or in the pipe yard
should be identified with a red band near the shoulder.

Refacing

The same refacing procedures apply to Drill Collars as to Drill Pipe. API RP7G suggests
that about 1/32 inch may be removed in the first refacing, with a total of no more than
1/16 inch removed on any one shoulder. The reason for limiting the amount of metal
removed is to reduce the possibility of more metal being removed from one side of the
shoulder than the other. When this happens, the mating shoulders are not parallel to each
other when the Connection is made up. This causes one point of the mating shoulder to
make contact before the other, and excessive loading in this area results in galling of the

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shoulder during makeup. This is why whoever does the refacing should be thoroughly
trained in the importance of removing an equal amount of metal all around the face of the
shoulder.

However, the problem is, how will the Inspector know whether the Connection shoulder
has already been refaced? The most effective way is to check the distance between the
shoulder face and the API benchmark stamped on the base of the Pin and in the Box
counterbore. API benchmarks show the position of the original shoulder, so the Inspector
can determine how much refacing has been done.

Another method to verify whether the joint can be replaced is by using a Standoff Gauge.

A third method consists of measuring the distance between the first full thread and the
Pin or Box shoulder on the Pin neck itself or in the counterbore. This is a precision
measurement, and its interpretation depends on the Inspector's experience, the written
specifications available for the type of Connection to be refaced, and using the
appropriate instrument for such a measurement.

The API benchmark is better than other methods of marking pipe and should be a
requirement when recutting Drill Pipe and Drill Collar Connections.

After the refacing is complete, the inspection crew must coat the shoulder and thread
surfaces with an anti-galling compound. This compound is a mixture of copper sulfate,
sulfuric acid, and water.

Color Coding

At the end of the inspection, the condition of the Drill Pipe body and Tool Joints should
be identified by means of a color code. API's identification code for used Drill Pipe is as
follows.

 Premium-class Drill Pipe Tool Joints and tube bodies have two white bands painted
near the Pin.

• Class-two pipe and Tool Joints have a single yellow band.

• Class-three pipe has a single orange band.

• Junk pipe has a red band painted near the Pin.

Drill Pipe Tool Joints and Drill Collar Connections that can be repaired in the field are
identified with a green band painted near the shoulder. Those that are beyond repair in
the field have a red band painted near the shoulder.

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Inspection Report

A comprehensive report completes the inspection process. The Drilling Contractor

Representative should request a report that will provide useful information to determine
whether the pipe was rejected or needed repairs because of downhole conditions, normal
wear, or rough handling. It is imperative that report focus on the reasons for rejecting or
downgrading pipe. The Drilling Contractor Representative should pass the inspection
report on to the rig management so that Drilling Foremen, Superintendents, and Drillers
can also review it.

Some legitimate pipe damage and normal wear and tear on the Drill String is expected.
But if the inspection report indicates unusual or excessive pipe damage, corrective action
will be needed. The best-qualified party to decide what the best course of action is, of
course the Rig Management.

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