(Short) Explanation of Oilfield Drilling Activities with opportunities for

Bureau Veritas
Summary
► Life of the Well

► Wellhead equipment

► Surface equipment

Separators

Containers

Tanks

Treating iron
► Drilling equipment (surface only)

► Lifting equipment

► Specific Well Services – Equipment required at surface


Cementing

Fracturing

Coiled tubing

Artificial lift

Slickline

Wireline / Logging

Well testing

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Life of a Well
Life of a well – DRILLING

1. Operators will want environmental & risk impact 5. DRILLING Companies are required to have their
assessments done Wellhead & Blow Out Preventer (BOP) stack
inspected (Witness Pressure test)
2. BRING DRILL RIG TO LOCATION
3. MOUNT RIG AT LOCATION

4. DRILLING Companies are required to have

their rig inspected before starting to drill (lifting
+ structural)

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Life of a well - DRILLING

5. DRILL THE WELLBORE (Hole)

6. INSPECT Drill pipe, Drill collars &

Bottomhole Assembly (BHA)
7. Drilling and service companies may want 2nd party
inspection (integrity, threads, follow TH Hill or Fernley
Proctor standards)

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Life of a well - COMPLETION

7. Complete the well (install the

bottomhole and surface equipment
that will allow production of the well)
Operators may want 2nd party quality
control during fabrication of:
- All surface completion (valves)
- Oil Country Tubing Goods (OCTG)
that constitute the downhole
completion (casing, tubing, etc.)

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Others opportunities

► There are numerous services during the life of a well (see detail of
Services starting Slide 24). These require:
 Audits of manufacturers / suppliers
 Certification of new equipment (mandatory for assets under pressure and/or
lifting
 3rd party inspection during 5-year major survey
 2nd party inspection during regular inspections (monthly, bi-annual or annual)
 Training of staff on crane and lifting equipment utilization
 Training on safety, HAZID, HAZOP, driving, etc.
 Certification for welders, lifting equipment operation, crane operation, etc.

19-Sep-2008 7
What needs 2nd and/or 3rd party inspection?
ns
– Lifting inspectio
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19-Sep-2008 8
Wellhead Equipment
Wellhead

► The wellhead is the surface

termination of a wellbore.
► The wellhead:

 “holds”/hangs the production tubing;

 is attached to the Christmas tree
(surface flow control equipment);

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Christmas Tree

► The Christmas tree is an assembly

of valves, spools, pressure gauges
and chokes fitted to the wellhead to
control production.

Christmas Tree

Wellhead

19-Sep-2008 11
Examples of separate wellhead equipment
► Adapters – Casing head
Adapters – Tubing head
Back Pressure Valves
Ball Valves - Full Opening
Bell Nipples
Bull Plugs
Casing heads
Casing Spools
Chokes - Positive Casing hanger
Chokes - Manual Adjustable Choke valve
Chokes - Hydraulic
Flanges - Companion Spool
Flanges – Weld neck
Flow Tees
Gauges
Gate Valves - Manual
Gate Valves - Dual
Gate Valves - Actuator
Landing Bases Tee
Nipples Ring gaskets
Primary Seals
Ring Gaskets Slip assembly
Secondary Seals
Slip Assemblies
Stripper Rubbers
Studs Well cap
Tees and Crosses
Tubing Hangers
Tubing heads
Wraparounds

Stripper rubbers

Pressure gauge Flange

Spider

19-Sep-2008 12
Surface Equipment
 Surface equipment to separate hydrocarbons

ABOVE: Hydrocarbon separator (can be 2 or 3 phases),

typically used for well testing services but also is required before
or after transportation of hydrocarbons (the units will look different
& are usually bigger) – also called free-water knock-out

This is a basic oil/water separator (Corrugated Plate Interceptor)

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Containers – must be DNV 2-7.1 certified

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Containers – must be DNV 2-7.1 certified

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Tanks
Can contain corrosive fluids: requires regular inspections

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 Treating Iron
Butterfly valve ► Used for:
 Cementing
Ball valve  Coiled tubing

chiksan  Fracturing

Check valve  Well testing

 Drilling
Iron line
Minimum yearly inspection

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 Drilling Equipment
(Reminder: AT SURFACE ONLY)
Blow Out Preventers (BOP) – also required for well testing and
coiled tubing

Blow Out Preventer Control System

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Drilling Equipment

Kelly spinner

Choke and kill manifold Traveling block Top Drive

Mud pump

Crown block Drawworks

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 Lifting Equipment
One of the primary causes of
accidents in the oilfield industry
Requires regular and strict inspections
Cranes

Requires at least a yearly inspection

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Lifting Equipment

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Masts

Requires at least a yearly inspection

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Specific Well Services – Equipment required at surface
Cementing

► Cementing provides well integrity through isolation of zones. It is a

durable hydraulic seal in the wellbore that allows selective fluid

production from subsurface formations and prevents leaks into other
formations or to the surface.

19-Sep-2008 27
Cementing Unit – Typical elements

1. Mix Water Pump

2. Recirculating Pump
3. Boost Pump
4. 600 HP Triplex Pump
5. 600 HP Triplex Pump
6. 7 BBL Mixing Tank
7. Dust Eliminator INVOLVES:
8. Recirculating Mixer
•Intrisic safety
9. Control Console
10. Displacement Tanks
•Corrosion
11. Allison Automatic Transmission •Pressure exposure
12. Twin Deck Engines
•Chemicals
13. Auxiliary Power

19-Sep-2008 28
Fracturing

► Fracturing is a well stimulation process performed to improve

production from geological formations where the flow of hydrocarbons is

restricted. Fluid is pumped into a well at sufficiently high pressure to
fracture the formation. A proppant (sand or ceramic material) is then
added to the fluid and injected into the fracture to prop it open, thereby
permitting the hydrocarbons to flow more freely into the wellbore. Once
the proppant has been placed into the fracture, the fluid flows out of the
well

19-Sep-2008 29
Fracturing Job

INVOLVES:
•Intrisic safety
•Corrosion
•Pressure exposure
•Chemicals
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Coiled Tubing

► Coiled tubing (CT) is a continuous (without joints) reel of steel pipe. The pipe, is

spooled onto a large diameter reel and can be run into any oil or gas well. In
general terms, coiled tubing is used as a conduit to circulate and place fluids
into the wellbore at a specific depth.

The major advantage of using CT technology over regular jointed tubing is the
increased speed at which the CT string can be run into and out of the well and
the fact that it can be run into a live well. This means operations can be
performed while the well is flowing oil or gas.

► CT is also used for drilling.

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Coiled Tubing Services

Crane
(requires minimum yearly inspections)

INVOLVES:
•Lifting equipment
•Intrisic safety
Motors
•Corrosion
•Pressure exposure
•Chemicals
BOPs

Coil reel

Power pack = hydraulic and

pneumatic power to operate
the unit

Control Unit

19-Sep-2008 32
Coiled Tubing job

Use of mast, instead of crane

(requires minimum yearly inspections)

19-Sep-2008 33
Artificial Lift

► Artificial lift systems are installed in oil wells and, to a lesser extent,
natural gas wells that do not have sufficient reservoir pressure to raise
the produced hydrocarbon to the surface. These systems supplement
the natural reservoir pressures to produce oil or natural gas from the
well. There are six principal types of artificial lift technologies used in
the industry:
 Progressing cavity pumps (PCP), INVOLVES:
•Intrisic safety
 Reciprocating rod lift systems,
•Corrosion
 Gas lift systems, •Pressure exposure

 Electrical submersible pumps (ESP),

 Hydraulic lift systems,
 Plunger lift systems,
 Hybrid lift systems (example: horizontal pumping systems).

19-Sep-2008 34
Surface equipment to pump hydrocarbons out

Electric Top Drive (=

motor) of a downhole
pump

Hydraulic Top Drive (=

motor) of a downhole
pump

Surface beam unit

19-Sep-2008 35
Artificial lift systems

Plunger lift system

Surface

Downhole

Progressive Cavity Pump

Progressive cavity pump

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Slickline

► Slickline is a thin non-electric cable

used to place or retrieve wellbore

hardware, such as plugs, gauges
and valves. Valves and sleeves can
also be adjusted using slickline tools.
Partially damaged tubing can be
repaired using a slickline.
INVOLVES:
•Intrisic safety
•Corrosion
•Pressure exposure

Slickline mounted on skids for offshore application

The skid (frame) is subject to DNV 2-7.1 or DNV 2-7.2 standard

19-Sep-2008 37
Wireline

► Wireline describes well-intervention operations conducted using single-

strand or multi-strand wire or cable for intervention in oil or gas wells.

Usually, it refers to electric logging and cables incorporating electrical
conductors.

INVOLVES:
•Intrisic safety
•Corrosion
•Pressure exposure

This is a log, obtained from logging

19-Sep-2008 38
Wireline Unit or Logging Unit

Wireline Truck

Inside the wireline unit – data acquisition instruments

(pretty old)

Wireline Unit

19-Sep-2008 39
Well Testing

► Well testing is conducted to determine how a much a well can produce.

INVOLVES:
•Intrisic safety
•Corrosion
•Pressure exposure

Well test equipment on truck

19-Sep-2008 40
Typical Standards and References
Main References – Applicable Standards (non exhaustive)

► API 4 : Derricks and masts

► API 6 : Valves and wellhead equipment
 API 6A : Specification for wellhead and Christmas tree equipment
► API 7 : Drilling equipment
► API 8 : Hoisting tools
► API 11 : Production equipment
 API 11E : Beam pumping units
► API 16 : Drilling well control systems
► API 17 : Subsea production systems
► ASME 30.5 : Mobile and locomotive crane
► ASME 30.9 : Slings
► ASME 30.10 : Hooks
► DS-1 to DS-3 : TH Hill Drill Stem Tests and BottomHole Assembly Standards

19-Sep-2008 42