The present disclosure relates generally to drilling equipment and, more particularly, to systems and methods for tubular element handling.
During drilling operations, it is common for individual joints of tubular elements to be attached together, such as by screwing one of a first joint to an end of another joint. The tubular element may be a pipe, a casing, a collar, a mud motor, a stabilizer, a milling device, or other downhole tool or device. The individual joints are connected and the process may be repeated as the drillstring is put together with various tubular elements and is lowered into the borehole as the well. However, this approach can prove costly as it may slow the drilling process, due to the relatively large number of joints that must be connected. Instead, it may be helpful for several joints to be attached to one another to create a tubular element assembly (which typically may comprise two or more individual tubular elements), and then attach one end of the tubular element assembly to the end of the joint at the surface end of the drillstring.
In one aspect, a first system for transferring tubular elements is disclosed. The first system may include a first vertical storage structure having a first drilling structure attached to the first vertical storage structure. In the first system, the first drilling structure may have a first racking board attached to the first structure on a bottom side and a monorail attached to the first drilling structure on a top side. The first system may further include a second vertical storage structure having a second drilling structure attached to the second vertical storage structure. In the first system, the second drilling structure may have a second racking board attached to the second drilling structure. In the first system, the first drilling structure and the second drilling structure may be located proximate to each other, while the monorail may extend from the first drilling structure to the second drilling structure. In the first system, the monorail may have a movable trolley attached to the monorail and the movable trolley may be configured to hold a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements and move from a first position to a second position. In the first system, the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements may be moved from the first drilling structure to the second drilling structure.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first system, the movable trolley may be movable in response to an operator command.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first system, the first drilling structure and the second drilling structure may be attached to the first vertical storage structure and the second vertical storage structure, respectively, at substantially a same height.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first system, the movable trolley may be configured to lift a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements in response to an operator command.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first system, the movable trolley may be configured to lower a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements in response to an operator command.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first system, the first vertical storage structure may be located proximate to a first well borehole that contains a portion of a drillstring.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first system, the second vertical storage structure may be located proximate to a second well borehole.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first system, the first vertical storage structure may be configured to move a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from the drillstring in the first well borehole and transfer the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements to the second vertical storage structure.
In yet another aspect, a first method for drilling a well is disclosed. The first method may include positioning a first drilling rig proximate to a surface location for drilling a first wellbore, positioning a second drilling rig proximate to a surface location of a second wellbore and proximate to the first drilling rig. In the first method, the second drilling rig may have a structure attached to the second drilling rig. In the first method, the structure may have a monorail attached to the structure and the monorail may have a motorized and movable trolley attached to the monorail. In the first method, the monorail and the trolley may be configured to move a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from the second drilling rig to the first drilling rig. The first method may further include, with the second drilling rig, breaking out a connection of a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from a drillstring of the second well borehole, and, with the movable trolley, lifting the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements. The first method may further include, with the movable trolley, moving the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from a first position from the second drilling rig to a second position at the first drilling rig.
In any of the disclosed embodiments, the first method may further include attaching the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements to a drillstring in the first wellbore, releasing the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from the hoist, and moving the trolley from the first drilling rig back to the second drilling rig.
In any of the disclosed embodiments, the first method may further include drilling the first well borehole by the first drilling rig, and tripping out the drillstring from the second well borehole by the second drilling rig.
In any of the disclosed embodiments, the first method may further be automated and performed by a computer system executing computer software instructions stored on the computer system.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first method, the first drilling rig and the second drilling rig may be 200 feet or less from one another.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first method, the method may be performed in 60 seconds or less, 75 seconds or less, 90 seconds or less, or 120 seconds or less.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first method, performing the method may take from 40 seconds to 90 seconds to complete.
In another aspect, a second system for transferring tubular elements is disclosed. The second system may include a first structure having a first horizontal platform attached to the first structure on a bottom side and a monorail attached to the first structure on a top side. The second system may further include a second structure having a second horizontal platform attached to the second structure. In the second system, the first structure and the second structure may be located proximate to each other, while the monorail may extend from the first structure to the second structure. In the second system, the monorail may have a motion controlled assembly attached to the monorail and the motion controlled assembly may be configured to hold a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements and move the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from the first structure to the second structure.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second system, the motion controlled assembly may be motion controlled in response to an operator command.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second system, the first structure and the second structure may be at substantially a same height.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second system, the motion controlled assembly may be configured to lift the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements in response to an operator command.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second system, the motion controlled assembly may be configured to lower the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements in response to an operator command.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second system, the first structure may be a first vertical storage structure of a first drilling rig located proximate to a first well borehole that contains a portion of a drillstring.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second system, the second structure may be a second vertical storage structure of a second drilling rig located proximate to a second well borehole.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second system, the motion controlled assembly may be configured to move the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements between the first vertical storage structure and the second vertical storage.
In still a further aspect a second method for drilling a well is disclosed. The second method may include positioning a first structure proximate to a surface location of a first wellbore, positioning a second structure proximate to a surface location of a second wellbore and proximate to the first wellbore. In the second method, the second structure may have a transfer structure attached to the second structure. In the second method, the transfer structure may have a monorail attached to the transfer structure and the monorail may have a motion controlled assembly attached to the monorail. In the second method, the monorail and the motion controlled assembly may be configured to move a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements between the first structure and the second structure. The second method may further include, with the second structure, breaking out a connection of a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from a drillstring of the second well borehole and lifting the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements. The second method may further include, with the motion controlled assembly, moving the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from a first position from the second structure to a second position at the first structure.
In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second method may further include attaching the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements to a drillstring in the first wellbore, releasing the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from a hoist, and moving the motion controlled assembly from the first structure back to the second structure.
In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second method may be automated and performed by a computer system executing computer software instructions stored on the computer system.
In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second method, the first structure and the second structure may be less than or equal to 200 feet apart.
In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second method may be performed in less than or equal to 60 seconds, less than or equal to 75 seconds, less than or equal to 90 seconds, or less than or equal to 120 seconds.
In any of the disclosed embodiments, performing the second method may take from 40 seconds to 90 seconds to complete.
For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the following description, details are set forth by way of example to facilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter. It should be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the field, however, that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possible embodiments.
The present disclosure includes systems and methods for tubular element handling useful for tubular element handling drilling operations, and allows for a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements to be made up in close proximity to a first structure, such as a first drilling rig, and the end of the drillstring at the surface. The tubular element handling system may transfer a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements while the first structure is operating, such as by continuing to perform drilling. Then, the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements may be easily transferred so that the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements can be attached to the surface end of the drillstring. Although in the following description reference is made to a drilling rig having a mast, it is noted that the tubular element handling systems and methods disclosed herein are not limited in such a manner and may be used with any type of structure or storage structure associated with tubular elements. The tubular element comprising the tubular element assembly may be a pipe, a casing, a collar, a mud motor, a stabilizer, a milling device, other downhole tool or device, or various combinations thereof.
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the tubular element handling system may be utilized to transfer or pass a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements (e.g., stands of drilling pipe) between two adjacent structures, such as two drilling rigs having respective masts (or other vertical storage structures) that are adjacent to one another, as shown in
The tubular element handling system in this embodiment may repeatedly move tubular element or assembly of tubular elements between structures, such as from one drilling rig to another during drilling or during tripping. In one embodiment, a drilling rig used for drilling a well borehole may move to a second location after the borehole is drilled and commence drilling another well borehole. In the meantime, the second drilling rig can be moved to the opening of the first well borehole and then be used for tripping out the drillstring from the first well while the first drilling rig is being used to drill the second well borehole. In this embodiment, the second drilling rig can be used to break out each tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from the drillstring of the first well borehole and transfer each tubular element or assembly of tubular elements to the first drilling rig that is being used to drill the second well borehole. When the drillstring has been removed by the second drilling rig from the first well borehole, then the second drilling rig can be moved if desired or can remain in place and can be used in combination with the first drilling rig to help in drilling of the second well borehole, such as by using the second drilling rig to make tubular element or assembly of tubular elements, which can be transferred to the first drilling rig for drilling the second well borehole as described above. In this way, the systems and methods of the present disclosure help to improve drilling efficiency, for example since the first drilling rig can be utilized to drill a second well instead of tripping tubular elements out of the previous well's borehole.
For a more complete understanding, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The racking boards 5 and 10 may comprise a gantry support structure of first and second structures 3 and 7, respectively, which may be attached to the drilling rigs 1 and 2, as well as racking boards 5 and 10, respectively. The gantry support structures 3 and 7 may be designed to provide additional structural support to the racking board deck surface. The racking boards and support structures may be designed to hold one or more workers who may operate and/or control the tubular element transfer operations, such as are described herein.
Also shown in
Typically, the monorail can be anywhere from about 10 feet long to about 60 feet long, and the distance between the two racking boards may be anywhere from about 5 feet to about 30 feet when the two drilling rigs are located in position for transferring tubular element or assembly of tubular elements between them.
Referring now to
In position 2, the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements may be lifted. While the amount by which the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements is lifted may vary anywhere from 2 inches to 3 feet or so, typically it is expected that the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements will be lifted about eighteen inches off the floor. Once the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements has been lifted, the drilling rig 1 derrickhand may inform the drilling rig 1 floorhand that the gate is open and the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements is ready for movement.
In position 2a in
Once the trolley with the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements reaches the safety gate of the racking board 10 of drilling rig 2, a derrickhand on drilling rig 2 may take control. The derrickhand on drilling rig 2 may move the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements through the safety gate of drilling rig 2 and position the trolley as desired within the racking board 10 of drilling rig 2. The derrickhand on drilling rig 2 may also place rope or other retention or holding means around the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements.
In position 3, the drilling rig 2 floorhand may take control, and may push the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements into the correct position for racking back, and may then lower the tubular element or assembly of tubular elements.
The drilling rig 2 floorhand may have control for position 4 of
In positions 5 and 6 of
In position 7, the drilling rig 1 floorhand may have control, and may move the trolley back into position in drilling rig 1 for the next tubular element or assembly of tubular elements. At or during this time period, the floorhand for drilling rig 1 also may be moving the next tubular element or assembly of tubular elements into position in drilling rig 1. Once the second tubular element or assembly of tubular elements is in position, and the trolley has been moved back into position for the second tubular element or assembly of tubular elements, the drilling rig 1 derrickhand may instruct the drilling rig 1 floorhand to lower the hoist to pick up the second tubular element or assembly of tubular elements.
The drilling rig 1 floorhand may have control at position 8 in
With respect to the exemplary process diagrammed in
As disclosed herein, a system and method for transferring tubular elements may include a first structure having a first horizontal platform attached to the first structure on a bottom side and a monorail attached to the first structure on a top side, a second structure having a second horizontal platform attached to the second structure. The first structure and the second structure may be located proximate to each other, while the monorail can extend from the first structure to the second structure. The monorail can have a motion controlled assembly to move a tubular element or assembly of tubular elements.
It is noted that the system and method for the transfer of tubular element or assembly of tubular elements disclosed herein provides ways to efficiently move tubular element or assembly of tubular elements from a wellbore that has been drilled to a drilling rig drilling a new well borehole and thereby reduce costs and increase the speed of drilling. It is noted that the drawings and detailed description herein are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive manner, and are not intended to be limiting to the particular forms and examples disclosed. On the contrary, included are any further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, as defined by the following claims. Thus, it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/374,434, filed Jul. 13, 2021, entitled “Systems and Methods for Tubular Element Handling”, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/518,732, filed Jul. 22, 2019 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,098,535), entitled “Systems and Methods for Tubular Element Handling”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/702,214, filed on Jul. 23, 2018, and entitled “Systems and Methods for Stand Transfer System for Drilling.” The entire disclosures of all these applications (including all attached documents) are incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62702214 | Jul 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17374434 | Jul 2021 | US |
Child | 18584653 | US | |
Parent | 16518732 | Jul 2019 | US |
Child | 17374434 | US |