Patent classifications
E21B3/022
Sequencing for pipe handling
A method sequence for handling tubulars into or out of a wellbore, the method comprising: moving a tubular string into or out of a wellbore via a top drive; moving tubular stands to and from a setback position and a stand handoff position via a transfer bridge racker and a setback guide arm; moving tubular stands to and from the stand handoff position and a well center position via a tubular delivery arm and a lower stabilizing arm; building stands and breaking down stands offline via a mousehole and operating a roughneck on joints between the tubular stands and the tubular string.
Sensor sub configuration
A system for measuring drilling and completion operational parameters in a tubular handling system is provided. The system includes a sensor sub connected below a top drive of the tubular handling system; one or more sensors within the sensor sub, for measuring, in the form of electrical signals, operational parameters; one or more low-power integrated circuits within the sensor sub, for receiving electrical signals from the sensors and digitizing the signals; two or more radio frequency (RF) transmitters located in the sensor sub, for transmitting the digitized signals; one or more commercially available lithium batteries within the sensor sub and remote receiver hub located remote from the tubular handling system and including a remote antenna for receiving the digitized signals from the two or more RF transmitters; one or more processing units for processing received digitized signals into engineering units for each of the operational parameters; and an input/output data connection for communicating operational parameters to an operator.
DUAL ACTIVITY TOP DRIVE
A dual activity top drive may include a mechanized system configured for suspension from a traveling block of a drill rig and for engaging and rotating a drill string from the top of the drill string. The dual activity top drive may also include a primary pipe handling system suspended from the mechanized system and configured for handling a pipe string and an auxiliary pipe handling system suspended from the mechanized system and configured for handling a segment of pipe to be added or removed from the pipe string.
Methods and systems for performing automated drilling of a wellbore
There are described methods, systems, and techniques for performing automated drilling of a well bore. The well bore is drilled according to one or more drilling parameter targets associated with one or more corresponding drilling parameters. A controlling drilling parameter of the one or more drilling parameters is determined to be outside a threshold window. In response to determining that a stringer has been encountered, one or more controlled drilling parameter targets of the one or more drilling parameter targets are updated. The controlled drilling parameter targets comprise a revolutions per minute (RPM) target and weight-on-bit (WOB) target.
Electrical power generation and distribution system with power recovery and regeneration
A well construction system with motor equipment having at least one of a drawworks motor, a top drive motor, or a combination thereof, and an electrical power system having a power recovery and regeneration system. The power recovery and regeneration system includes at least one energy storage device that is not a capacitor bank. The well construction system may be operated by generating AC power that is made available on an AC node, converting AC power available on the AC node to DC power available on a DC node, storing energy based on DC power available on the DC node by the power recovery and regeneration system, and regenerating the stored energy from the power recovery and regeneration system to AC power, DC power, or a combination thereof for consumption by an electrical consumer of the well construction system.
Monitoring Equipment of a Plurality of Drill Rigs
Systems and methods for monitoring equipment of multiple drill rigs. Each drill rig comprises multiple equipment units collectively operable to perform well construction operations to construct a well. An example monitoring system may be operable to receive operational data from each drill rig, determine operational status of each drill rig based at least partially on the operational data, and determine operational health indicators for each equipment unit of each drill rig based at least partially on the operational data. Each operational health indicator is indicative of operational health of a corresponding equipment unit with respect to a different operational health category. The monitoring system may be further operable to display the operational status for each drill rig, including the operational health indicators for each equipment unit of each drill rig, as a single page on a video output device.
Controlling Release of Torsional Energy from a Drill String
Apparatus and methods for controlling release of torsional energy from a drill string having a lower portion that is stuck against a subterranean formation and a top end rotated by a top drive. The method may include decreasing a rotational speed set-point of the top drive, decreasing a torque set-point of the top drive, and/or decreasing flow rate of drilling mud being pumped downhole via the drill string, thereby decreasing torque output by a mud motor rotating a drill bit. The method may further include lifting the drill string to free the drill string. Decreasing the torque set-point of the top drive may comprise decreasing the torque set-point of the top drive to a minimum torque level that the top drive can output. Decreasing the rotational speed set-point of the top drive may comprise decreasing the rotational speed set-point of the top drive to zero.
APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATED SLIDE DRILLING
An automated slide drilling system (ASDS) may be used with a drilling rig system to control slide drilling. The ASDS may autonomously control slide drilling without user input during the slide drilling. The ASDS may further support a transition from rotary drilling to slide drilling to rotary drilling without user input during the transitions. The ASDS may also support user input and user notifications for various steps to enable manual or semi-manual control of slide drilling by a driller or an operator.
Method for operating a top drive
A top drive for well operations having a gearbox, a traction motor connected to the gearbox so that a motor shaft of the traction motor extends into the gearbox, a quill extending into the gearbox, a gear train positioned within the gearbox and mechanically connected between the traction motor shaft and the quill, and a connector positioned in the gear train, wherein in a coupled configuration the connector communicates torque through the gear train, and wherein in a decoupled configuration the connector does not communicate torque through the gear train. A method for operating a top drive by applying a first torque to a quill with two traction motors, disconnecting one of the traction motors from the quill, and applying a second torque less than the first torque to the quill with the non-disconnected traction motor.
Inertial compensation for a quill oscillator
A drilling system configured to reduce friction during slide drilling. The drilling system has a drill string comprising a fluid-driven drill stage such as a mud motor; a variable frequency drive configured to oscillate the drill string via a quill and a sensor array. The sensor array measures the torque applied to the quill and the angular position of the quill. A controller is used to control the variable frequency drive based on the determined applied torque and quill angular position to meet predetermined oscillation turn-around criteria and to reduce the time to reduce the angular velocity of the quill from a maximum rotational speed to zero in an oscillation cycle.