Collaboration with Client: Industry’s First Open-Head, Full Rotating High-Torque Bucking Unit Enables Makeup of Tubulars on Pipe Deck

摘要

The prevailing drive to develop innovative solutions to reduce rig time and associated costs, coupled with enhancing safety and optimizing operational efficiency, prompted a major Gulf of Mexico operator to request a customized solution to allow make/break of drillpipe triples and casing doubles on its space-restricted deepwater production installation. Specifically, the operator sought a sustainable solution that would reduce operational costs by minimizing the online running of drill pipe, casing and tubing, while also reducing logistical hurdles and rig-floor hazards. This paper describes the collaborative initiative that resulted in the engineering of a purpose-built pipe deck, which drove the development and deployment of the industry’s first open-head bucking unit and bespoke pipe transfer system designed to enable fingertip make-up and breakout of drill pipe triples and doubles of casing and tubing. At the onset, a number of challenges had to be addressed to meet the operator’s objective to vertically integrate the bucking and hands-free pipe transport system into the rig, which comprised a single-activity derrick with limited rack back capabilities. The authors will discuss the cradle-to-grave design process, which featured a cantilevered pipe bridge off of the rig floor to house the new bucking unit and pipe transfer system. Furthermore, owing to challenging well designs with increased risk of differential pipe sticking, the paper discusses the complementary design of positioning systems that deliver record vertical lift and horizontal tong movement of 13 ft (4m). The development of the hands-free bucking unit and integrated pipe transport system clearly illustrates the intrinsic economic value of multi-party collaboration in creating operational efficiencies to reduce pipe process time, minimize or eliminate non-productive time (NPT), and deliver repetitive and predictive outcomes.