ABOUT THIS TRAINING COURSE
The drill string is the simplest piece of equipment in use on a drilling rig and
at the same time, the most critical piece. We use the qualifier 'basic' because
although 99% of the drill string comprises plain tubes that are just screwed
together, the lowest section, just above the bit, can go to extreme loading and
is fitted with highly sophisticated electronics packages providing both
positional and lithological data as well as a steering system to drive and
orient the bit.
The principle tasks of the drill string are also deceptively simple. These are
to:
1. Convey each drill bit to the bottom of the hole and then to retrieve it when
worn,
2. Act as a conduit to convey drilling fluid at high pressure down to the bit
and
3. Transmit torque from surface to bit, occasionally in concert with a
hydraulic motor to drive this bit.
This 3 full-day course will cover in detail what it takes to decide on minimum
drill string specifications, which are able to support the loads to which it
will be subjected. In addition to the need to use a drill string with minimum
strength requirements, we also need to ensure that we can prevent drill string
failure. If the failure consists of a small split or leak of any kind, then the
time involved may be little more than that required for a roundtrip to change
the bit. If the string parts, then the recovery is likely to take a considerable
amount of time. In a worst case scenario, the fish in the hole may prove
impossible to retrieve, requiring a sidetrack.
A less than optimal design of the string will reduce the efficiency of the
operation and almost always leads to premature bit wear. This is particularly
true when we are unable to measure and control the dynamics of the drill string
as a whole and the bottomhole assembly in particular. Axial vibrations,
torsional vibrations and lateral vibrations may take place in various degrees of
severity. The behaviour of the drill string while operating under torsional
vibrations is thought to be of great importance and may result in torsional
buckling.
This course will also cover the drilling optimization limiters, how to identify
them and how to remove them. This is done by understanding the drill string
dynamics - by operating under the most favourable conditions and by measuring
the dynamics in the vicinity of the bit (or at the bit) in order to make timely
adjustments.
Training Objectives
The course homes in what office staff needs to know and plan for and what field
staff needs to know and implement. By the end of this course, participants will
be familiar with:
* Critical dimensions of common drill pipe and weld-on tool joints and its
relation to yield for calculation of tensile, torsional and burst resistance.
* Make-up torque of connections that relate to the tool joint dimensions and
the torsional strength of that connection.
* Use of design factors and safety factors on tensile and torsional strength in
relation to new and worn state. Conditions which could lead to drill pipe
collapse.
* Situations where limitations on sinusoidal (snake) and helical buckling will
apply and the influence of radial clearance and deviation.
* Failure of drill pipe (fatigue) and the circumstances under which these would
occur (rotation across doglegs, pipe in compression etc).
* Mechanism under which hardbanding would induce casing wear and the methods
applied to measure and prevent any significant wear.
* Drill pipe inspection methods we apply to identify early
flaws/cracks/corrosion, to measure dimensions, to inspect tool joints etc.
* Common BHA components, including heavy wall drill pipe, their
external/internal dimensions, connections (API, proprietary) and appearance
(such as spiral).
* Significance of thread compounds to ensure the correct make-up torque is
applied.
* Significance of drill string/BHA 'neutral point' in the context of drill
string component failure.
* Basic design principles for a BHA make-up in a vertical, low/medium deviated
and highly deviated well in terms of weight transfer and drag/torque.
* Stabilization principles for a pendulum (vertical), a stabilized (vertical or
tangent), a build and a drop-off assembly.
* BHA design and stabilization in relation to mitigation/elimination of
vibration and to the elimination of tension, torsion or fatigue failure.
* Matching bit aggressiveness, gauge length, BHA stabilization, steerability
and Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE) to mitigate the severity of any
vibration.
* Bit efficiency and reduction of wear by understanding mechanical and
hydraulic limiters. How to perform a passive or active drill-off test.
* Importance of being conversant with API 7G RP and/or equivalent data books,
to look up/check the recommended tensile/torque and other parameters for the
drill string in use.
Target Audience
This course is intended for staff directly or indirectly involved in the
delivery of challenging wells such as junior to senior well engineers, both in
office-based planning and operations and field-based operator/contractor
supervisory staff such as company men and toolpushers.
Trainer
Your expert course leader has over 45 years of experience in the Oil & Gas
industry. During that time, he has worked exclusively in the well engineering
domain. After being employed in 1974 by Shell, one of the major oil & gas
producing operators, he worked as an apprentice on drilling rigs in the
Netherlands. After a year, he was sent for his first international assignment to
the Sultanate of Oman where he climbed up the career ladder from Assistant
Driller, to Driller, to wellsite Petroleum Engineer and eventually on-site
Drilling Supervisor, actively engaged in the drilling of development and
exploration wells in almost every corner of this vast desert area. At that time,
drilling techniques were fairly basic and safety was just a buzz word, but such
a situation propels learning and the fruits of 'doing-the-basics' are still
reaped today when standing in front of a class.
After some seven years in the Middle East, a series of other international
assignments followed in places like the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Turkey,
Denmark, China, Malaysia, and Russia. Apart from on-site drilling supervisory
jobs on various types of drilling rigs (such as helicopter rigs) and working
environments (such as jungle and artic), he was also assigned to research, to
projects and to the company's learning centre. In research, he was responsible
for promoting directional drilling and surveying and advised on the first
horizontal wells being drilled, in projects, he was responsible for a high
pressure drilling campaign in Nigeria while in the learning centre, he looked
after the development of new engineers joining the company after graduating from
university. He was also involved in international well control certification and
served as chairman for a period of three years. In the last years of his active
career, he worked again in China as a staff development manager, a position he
nurtured because he was able to pass on his knowledge to a vast number of new
employees once again.
After retiring in 2015, he has delivered well engineering related courses in
Australia, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Thailand, India,
Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, The Netherlands, and the United States. The training he
provides includes well control to obtain certification in drilling and well
intervention, extended reach drilling, high pressure-high temperature drilling,
stuck pipe prevention and a number of other ad-hoc courses. He thoroughly enjoys
training and is keen to continue taking classes as an instructor for some time
to come.
POST TRAINING COACHING SUPPORT (OPTIONAL)
To further optimise your learning experience from our courses, we also offer
individualized 'One to One' coaching support for 2 hours post training. We can
help improve your competence in your chosen area of interest, based on your
learning needs and available hours. This is a great opportunity to improve your
capability and confidence in a particular area of expertise. It will be
delivered over a secure video conference call by one of our senior trainers.
They will work with you to create a tailor-made coaching program that will help
you achieve your goals faster.
Request for further information post training support and fees applicable
Accreditions And Affliations