This book offers you a brief, but very involved look into the operations in the drilling of an Oil & Gas well. From start to finish, you'll see a general prognosis of the drilling process. If you are new to the oil & gas industry, you'll enjoy having a leg up with the knowledge of these processes. If you are a seasoned oil & gas person, you'll enjoy reading what you may or may not know in these pages.
OIL & GAS HANDBOOK
A ROUGHNECK'S GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSEBy Will PettijohnAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2012 Will Pettijohn P.E.C.
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4685-4531-9Contents
Chapter 1 Rig move & rig up................................................1Chapter 2 Pre-spud Inspection..............................................11Chapter 3 Spudding in......................................................15Chapter 4 Drilling surface.................................................17Chapter 5 Running surface casing...........................................10Chapter 6 Blowout preventers...............................................22Chapter 7 Nipple up B.O.P.'s...............................................24Chapter 8 Testing the B.O.P.'s.............................................27Chapter 9 Drillout.........................................................28Chapter 10 Vertical wells..................................................31Chapter 11 Horizontal wells................................................31Chapter 12 Directional wells...............................................34Chapter 13 Total Depth (TD)................................................35Chapter 14 Tripping pipe...................................................36Chapter 15 Laying down drill pipe..........................................38Chapter 16 Running intermediate casing.....................................40Chapter 17 Running production casing.......................................42Chapter 18 Rig release.....................................................44Chapter 19 Rigging down....................................................45Chapter 20 Rig Equipment...................................................47Chapter 21 Terms and Definitions...........................................53Chapter 22 State of Mind...................................................62Chapter 23 The Totem Pole..................................................64Chapter 24 Surface kill sheet..............................................66Chapter 25 Descriptions of air hammer drilling.............................68Chapter 26 History of air hammers..........................................69Chapter 27 Air drilling techniques.........................................72Chapter 28 Mist drilling...................................................79Chapter 29 Stable and stiff foam drilling..................................82Chapter 30 Air compressors.................................................85Chapter 31 Estimating flow rates...........................................87Chapter 32 Particle dynamics...............................................92Chapter 33 Rule of thumb calculations for air drilling.....................95Chapter 34 Hammers.........................................................98Chapter 35 Mud motors......................................................101Chapter 36 Geology.........................................................115Chapter 37 Blow outs.......................................................121Chapter 38 Helpful equations and factors...................................124Chapter 39 Oilfield acronyms...............................................133Chapter 40 Closing.........................................................171
Chapter One
Rig move & rig up
All oil or gas wells begin in the same place. We must have a drilling rig, a location and a drilling program to complete the operation of drilling an oil or gas well.
(Location; a permitted piece of property designed to support and maintain the Rig during normal drilling operations)
Once we have our location permitted and surveyed, it must then be designed for the type of rig that is going to move onto it. If your rig is a diesel electric, for example; you will probably need a much larger location than a double jackknife or single lay-down rig would need. These are three different types of rigs that we will cover later. If your Rig requires a reservoir or reserve pit, it should be ready and lined, before you arrive on location.
If your rig is a multi load rig, you will use several trucks to move the rig. Some rigs, such as an RD-20 or a Schramm rig are mounted onto a truck themselves and only require trucks to move their pipe trailers and equipment. We should have trucks on location early. You will see several different types of trucks, such as haul trucks, bed trucks, pole trucks "in some instances" and cranes and forklifts if necessary. These trucks will have their own operators and more than likely a swamper for each truck; swampers do the tying on and spotting.
You as a roughneck will more than likely need to help these people in tying onto and spotting the equipment as it is moved. If your rig is large enough to use several trucks, you will more than likely have one crew on the old location, loading out the equipment and one crew on the new location doing a spot in rig up.
(Spot in rig up; rigging up all that you can, as the rig is brought in that doesn't slow the rig move down)
You will need several tools, so ask your driller or tool pusher/ rig manager what tools you will need. Remember, the more you do without being told, the quicker you'll move up in this industry. You will be helping someone who knows where each load is to be placed. As the loads begin arriving, try and think about where they are supposed to go and be ready for them. For the most part, your rig will only go together one way. After you have rigged the Rig up once, you will know better where things are and supposed to be.
(Remember that everything you put together should be tight and ready to drill. If you put something together handy "hand tight" it looks tight and it may be missed later, some things that are pressurized during normal drilling operations and are not tight could result in an accident. So if you put it together, tighten it up; this will save valuable time and energy later, because it will already be done. And it also may prevent a horrific accident if it is done right the first time.)
In general, the first things that will arrive will be the substructure and several other loads at once, (mud tanks) also known as mud pits will come with the first loads. The substructure, draw works and other loads that will be used to put these together. First they will bring in the substructure and level it. The substructure is placed in the center of the location over the planned well-bore. The mud tanks are always placed at the back of location next to the reserve pit (if applicable) or reclamation tanks in other cases will be set up to receive the materials that will be removed from the earth during the drilling operations. Then they will bring in the shaker/ sand pit and set it into place. They will place it and adjust it according to the schematic of your rig. If your rig has a two tank system, they will bring in the settling/suction pit next. Unless your rig only has a one mud tank system which is becoming more common in many cases; then these two will serve the purpose of holding, treating and reclaiming the active drilling fluids during the drilling operations. This is where you come in; you will need to connect all of the hoses, risers and spreaders between the two tanks and install the walkway and handrails. After the pit/pits are set in, ask your supervisor if you need to put any handrails or anything else on top of them (remember to wear your harness if there is a chance of falling). Some mud tanks/pits have stationary handrails and others do not, it usually depends upon the height restrictions when mobilizing. You may also need to bolt down a de-sander/de-silter or shaker assembly and connect any hoses that would accompany them as well. These may be removed or they may stay on the mud tanks when mobilizing; depending on how tall your tanks are, some equipment must be removed for clearances under bridges and other low lying structures.
After the pits have been set in, a lot more will be happening. Your supervisor will let you know what you will be doing as the day progresses. Remember O.S.H.A. (the Occupational Safety & Health Administration) a federal safety and regulatory organization, has certain laws that you must comply with. So you'll need to remember the safety rules that your company has set forth in accordance to the regulations and made you aware of. We will cover a few of the O.S.H.A. rules as we get further in depth. For instance, any person that is 4 feet or more off of the ground (at their foot position) must be tied off 100% using a fall protection apparatus. This is usually a full body harness, if you have to wear a full body harness, it should be fitted to your body frame and inspected daily for wear and tear. After you have observed the safety rules of O.S.H.A. and your company, it's time to get to work.
During the process of installing the mud tanks and hooking them together, the substructure will be set in and leveled. If you are going to be putting the substructure together, you will have to use a few tools. You may need to drive pins into the different components to secure them together. You may have to use a level, to insure the substructure is level and drill stable. This is usually done while the pusher has the trucks raise or lower to adjust it and level it by placing boards under the sides or front and back. The substructure is the base of the operation; this is what holds everything else above it. A substructure is rated for depth and weight by certain qualities that are built into the structural steel. These range from shallow hole substructures to more than forty thousand feet substructures and this is regulated by mandatory periodic inspections called category (CAT) inspections. After the substructure is now spotted in place, level and ready to receive the other components, you will have to get with your supervisor to find out where you'll be working. There are several different types of substructures. There are hydraulic slingshot substructures, box type substructures, double box substructures and even pony substructures. You may receive two sides and several components that will be placed in the middle to connect the two sides. These inner pieces are often called frogs, because they jump from one side to the other. You may see one large substructure on your rig. This type of substructure usually only has a rotary table that is removed for mobilization. The box on box type substructure usually has one main base substructure and then pony substructures that are placed under them to obtain a certain height requirement. This is usually to accommodate a blow out preventer configuration for the area that you'll be drilling in.
After the substructure has been put together and leveled, the derrick is ready to be installed; the crane or pole trucks will attach a cable or sling onto either end of it and maneuver it over the substructure where it is to be pinned onto the floor of the substructure. You will then line it up and drive your pins into the allotted pin holes. The derrick stand will be placed under the other end of the derrick. The trucks will lower the derrick onto the stand; this in turn, will release the trucks from the derrick, so they can continue to rig up. After pinning the derrick and releasing the trucks, one truck will raise the a-legs. After the a-legs are raised and pinned into place the blocks will be set onto the catwalk to be strung up with drilling line. The derrick is the large tower structure which stands in the air and houses the traveling blocks, or the track and top drive which will be installed after it is pinned to the substructure. The derrick is usually the only part of the rig you see in the air when the rig is noticed from a distance. The derrick is also called a mast, but the more common term in the oilfield is derrick. If your rig is a free block and tackle rig, then you will string the blocks and install the pick-up line (also called a bull line) at this point. If it is a top drive rig, then you will install the track that it will ride on and then string the blocks and install the bull line. The derrick keeps the blocks and drilling assembly in the center of the operation to distribute the weight of the drill string. The weight of the drill string can astonish some people who aren't used to dealing with weights such as that. A derrick is designed very carefully and is an engineering marvel.
On all rigs except truck mounted rigs, or hydraulic track rigs, you will install the draw works, also known as a draw tool. This is the winch on for the power end of the rig. There will be a large winch assembly with either mechanical motors or electrical components to power it and allow the blocks to be moved up or down when needed. In the instance of mechanical motors, they will be either attached to the draw works skid, or they will be separate and will be attached using chains which drive the torque converters which in turn power a clutch and then gears that operate the blocks. If your rig is a SCR (silicon-controlled-rectifier) you will need to attach the electrical lines to provide the power source to the draw works. On an SCR rig, the difference is; the motors which power the gears are electric friction motors, instead of mechanical geared motors. These are often cleaner and less noisy rigs that are capable of a lot more horsepower. After all fuel lines, electrical lines and hydraulic lines have been ran to their proper place and tightened up to the motors or power source; then you can string your blocks and bull line, or install the top drive track for the blocks, with 6,8,10 or in some cases even12 lines; this will allow more or less string weight to be lifted by the blocks.
(Example: If your blocks have 5 sheaves, you could Rig up on 6, 8 or 10 lines)
The blocks may use 8 lines if the well is not going to be very deep. Most rigs use 10 to 12 lines if the blocks are capable to handle the weight and the blocks house enough sheaves. The more lines used, the slower the blocks will travel, but the more weight you're able to lift with the blocks. After you have strung the blocks, using the drilling line, then you will attach it to the draw works. Some rigs leave the blocks strung up when they move. These are usually the smaller rigs, but if it is an option, it makes it convenient and efficient for moving and rigging up. Different size rigs use different size drilling line and will also use a different number of lines running through the blocks. After you get the block or top drive rigged up, you should be ready to raise the derrick.
The next step is raising the derrick, with the exception of the truck mounted rigs that we discussed earlier, where the derrick is mounted permanently; this is not referring to the fixed truck rigs that scope up and down. The truck mounted rigs stay together and to raise the of derrick, you simply pull hydraulic levers. You can now perform the visual derrick inspection and weight stress test. The derrick inspection is a visual inspection, to insure that all safety pins, bolts, shackles and clevises are installed properly
(Note: If any piece of equipment is to be overhead, it must be approved to be used as an overhead device; secured using a safety pin assembly and a safety cable in the event that the safety pin should fail. This will insure that the equipment will not fall out of the derrick during the raising or drilling operations.)
The stress test is a company regulated test, as well as an API (American Petroleum Institute) standard test to be performed on the derrick at its heaviest and most stressful point. Once the derrick is raised off of the derrick stand, which is the most stressful point. The industry standard is @ 89° degrees or 6" for 20 minutes. This means, that you'll raise the derrick off of the derrick stand approximately 6" and hold it there for approximately 20 minutes. This places all of the weight on the pick-up line or bull line. The objective of this test is to prevent dropping the derrick in the event of a line failure. If the line fails, the derrick will only fall the distance that it is off of the stand and is less likely to hurt someone falling such a short distance.
A visual walk around inspection of these lines, sheaves and all other components should be performed before and during the stress test. Once the stress test is performed and all lines have passed, the derrick can then be raised and pinned into place and the rig up can be completed.
(Warning) do not stand under the derrick as it is being raised.
Anything could happen, causing the derrick to fall and crush you. Even a new line can fail and cause the derrick to fall. Stay a safe distance away while you're watching all of the lines and keeping them from getting pinched or hung onto something during the raising process.
The next step, after the derrick is pinned and secured, is to begin bringing all of the floor equipment onto the rig floor. Such as the tongs, swivel, kelly, valves and miscellaneous tools needed. The tongs are going to be hung onto separate stationary cables attached to the derrick and counter weight buckets; these counterweights will assist in raising and lowering the tongs due to the extreme weight of them. The tongs are also attached to the derrick leg using a snub-line; this prevents the tongs from moving further than the desired position and causing serious injury when being used. The tongs are also hooked to a cable or chain from the draw-works; this is the power side of the tongs and will force the tongs in a desired direction to tighten or loosen the tubular as it is being placed into or removed from the drill string.
(Tubular; is a piece of threaded pipe, drill pipe/drill collar, casing, motor, sub etc.)
Now the (back yard) can be completely rigged up and prepared for the drilling operations. The back yard refers to everything that goes behind the rig. At this time, you will probably spot in the mud mumps, two if applicable, some rigs only use one mud pump and others use up to three. So you will have one, two or three of them to rig up and connect together, depending on how large your rig is and how deep you are drilling. Most rigs have tri-plex pumps; they use three swab pistons to pull in and expel the drilling fluid; which will give the desired volume and pressure will be needed to drill. After spotting the mud pumps, you will probably set in the rest of your back yard; such as a water tank, light plant/generator or SCR house, mud house (if applicable), a diesel tank and the other buildings that may also be on your well site.
All drilling rigs must have diesel, the diesel lines will have to be ran and hooked up to all components. Some rigs are diesel electric rigs; these rigs have an SCR house that distributes electricity to miscellaneous components instead of using a specific motor for each individual component. In this instance, an electric line is ran and attached to each component, with a variety of distribution panels in strategic places; this will allow one single large cable to be ran to the distribution panel and the smaller satellite cables will be ran to the many components from there.
On the power rigs, or compound rigs, this changes a bit. Power rigs, also called compound rigs, due to the oil storage reservoir it uses to lubricate the gears, will have a motor for each component such as the draw-works, mud pumps and even the generator. Even as the component has its own motor, it will still need diesel and more than likely air for the starter and clutch. On most power rigs; you will need 3 lines ran to each motor, one for diesel, one for air supply and one for the clutch actuation to engage the clutch from a remote panel. If lights are on the component, or it has an electric actuation solenoid, you will need to run an electric line to these motors as well.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from OIL & GAS HANDBOOKby Will Pettijohn Copyright © 2012 by Will Pettijohn P.E.C.. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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