(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.
2.

Operators will want environmental & risk impact

assessments done BRING DRILL RIG TO LOCATION

5.

DRILLING Companies are required to have their Wellhead & Blow Out Preventer (BOP) stack inspected (Witness Pressure test)

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.

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What needs 2nd and/or 3rd party inspection?

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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

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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 Chokes - Manual Adjustable Chokes - Hydraulic Flanges - Companion Flanges Weld neck Flow Tees Gauges Gate Valves - Manual Gate Valves - Dual Gate Valves - Actuator Landing Bases Nipples Primary Seals Ring Gaskets Secondary Seals Slip Assemblies Stripper Rubbers Studs Tees and Crosses Tubing Hangers Tubing heads Wraparounds

Casing hanger Choke valve Spool

Ring gaskets Slip assembly

Tee

Well cap

Stripper rubbers Pressure gauge Spider

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Flange

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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15

Containers must be DNV 2-7.1 certified

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16

Tanks
Can contain corrosive fluids: requires regular inspections

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17

Treating Iron
Butterfly valve Ball valve chiksan Check valve Iron line
Minimum yearly inspection

Used for:

Cementing Coiled tubing Fracturing Well testing Drilling

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18

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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20

Drilling Equipment

Kelly spinner
Traveling block Top Drive

Choke and kill manifold

Mud pump

Crown block

Drawworks

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21

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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23

Lifting Equipment

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24

Masts
Requires at least a yearly inspection

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25

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.

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Cementing Unit Typical elements

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Mix Water Pump Recirculating Pump Boost Pump 600 HP Triplex Pump 600 HP Triplex Pump

6.
7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

7 BBL Mixing Tank

Dust Eliminator Recirculating Mixer Control Console Displacement Tanks Allison Automatic Transmission Twin Deck Engines Auxiliary Power

INVOLVES: Intrisic safety Corrosion Pressure exposure Chemicals

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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

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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 Corrosion Pressure exposure Chemicals BOPs Coil reel Motors

Power pack = hydraulic and pneumatic power to operate the unit Control Unit

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Coiled Tubing job

Use of mast, instead of crane (requires minimum yearly inspections)

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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),

Reciprocating rod lift systems, Gas lift systems, Electrical submersible pumps (ESP), Hydraulic lift systems, Plunger lift systems, Hybrid lift systems (example: horizontal pumping systems).

INVOLVES: Intrisic safety Corrosion Pressure exposure

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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

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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

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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

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Wireline Unit or Logging Unit

Wireline Truck

Inside the wireline unit data acquisition instruments

(pretty old)

Wireline Unit
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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

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Typical Standards and References

Main References Applicable Standards (non exhaustive)

API 4

: Derricks and masts

API 6

: Valves and wellhead equipment

: Specification for wellhead and Christmas tree equipment

API 6A

API 7 API 8 API 11

: Drilling equipment : Hoisting tools : Production equipment

: Beam pumping units

API 11E

API 16

: Drilling well control systems

API 17
ASME 30.5 ASME 30.9 ASME 30.10 DS-1 to DS-3

: Subsea production systems

: Mobile and locomotive crane : Slings : Hooks : TH Hill Drill Stem Tests and BottomHole Assembly Standards
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