Fully-Remote Installation of Conductor Casing in Deepwater Well Eliminated Personnel in Red Zone, Reduced Total Personnel on Board by 33%

Install 36-in. conductor casing on a deepwater drilling rig with remote-operated casing tongs, tong-positioning system, spider, and elevator.
Perform the operation with no personnel in the red zone.

The customer requested hands-free equipment for running 30-in. and 36-in. conductor casing.
The Weatherford team determined that the existing 30-100 power tong needed to be upgraded to accommodate 36-in., and the 36-in. hinged casing spider needed to be upgraded for remote operation.
To meet the contractual deadline in 240 days, the equipment was received in Brazil, performance tested, and presented to the customer.
After successful testing, the customer requested mobilization of the operation for 36-in. conductor casing.
Weatherford’s operations engineering planned the first operation for running the conductor casing using hands-free equipment. The full system was powered with the rig hydraulics using Weatherford’s multiport manifold.
The 36-in. conductor casing was successfully installed using the fully-remote equipment with no personnel in the red zone.
Due to the successful execution of the operation, the customer requested this approach for all future operations.

The fully-remote capabilities of the casing tongs, tong positioning system, spider, and elevator eliminated personnel in the red zone, significantly improving personnel safety.
With the elimination of personnel in the red zone, total personnel on board (POB) was reduced from 6 to 4, a 33% reduction .
All joints were 100% accepted in the first attempt, enabling efficient rig-up times of 1.5 hours.
The reduction of the crews and associated logistics reduced the customer’s overall carbon footprint.

Details

Location

Brazil, deepwater

Well Type

Offshore

Casing size and well type

TSH BlueDock^® LR 70 ELS conductor casing 36-in. (91 cm), x 1.500-in. (3,810 cm) WT Grade B API 5L pipe

Depth

Water depth: 4,504 ft (1,373 m)
Well depth: 4,744 ft (1,446 m)

Products/Services

Tubular Running Assurance