Energy & Power

NEW PRODUCTS

Subsea Blowout Preventer

T-3 Energy Services, Inc., has designed and manufactured its T-3 Diamond Series Model 6012 Subsea Double Ram Blowout Preventer fitted with subsea compact tandem-booster bonnets and casing shear bonnets. This is the first of four sets of subsea, compact tandem-booster bonnets for shearing sealing rams for T-3 Model 6012 Subsea BOPs that are scheduled to ship to major drilling contractors in 2007 to upgrade their existing subsea drilling equipment. The Model 6012 subsea BOP is currently available in an 18 3/4-in. bore size and is designed for 10,000-psi working-pressure BOPs. The Model 6012 is designed with hydraulically actuated mechanical locks as well as compact tandem-booster bonnets and blind-shear rams in the upper cavity, and casing shear bonnets, which are the industry?s first casing shear ram for this size and type of BOP, in the lower cavity.

Centralizer for Unstable Strata

Centek Ltd has introduced the Centek S2 UCF centralizer, for use where casing is run through unconsolidated formations. The centralizer greatly reduces the risk of damage when operating in unstable strata, and can reduce bow loadings to as little as half the compressive strength of the bore wall, while still providing effective centralization. Unconsolidated formations (UCFs) are non-stone strata-like sands, gravels and clay that are characterized by weak pore pressures. Standard centralizers exert a high point of load pressure against the bore wall. In a UCF section, the centralizer can dig into the bore wall, and the weaker the formation, the greater the penetration. This leads to stand-off and rotational problems, and can cause difficulties with the formation as the centralizer and casing move through the bore. These problems are especially evident in highly deviated, extended-reach wells, where the full weight of the pipe and centralizer is bearing on the lower surface of the bore. The S2 UCF increases the bow surface area at the point of contact by means of a specially designed, wider, load-bearing pad. Each centralizer is individually designed to take into account the size and weight of the casing being used and the compressive strength of that section of borehole. The centralizer not only supports the pipe-it also exerts a lower loading on each bow than the compressive strength of the formation.

Ultra-High-Resolution Monitor

Landmark, a product service line of Halliburton?s Drilling and Evaluation Division, has introduced a new quad full high-definition monitor for ultra-refined geoscience visualization and analysis. The Landmark M5600 features a 56-in. quad full high-definition screen that is four times the size and twice the pixel count (3840 x 2160) of the highest-resolution 30-in. screens. The monitor's resolution, when coupled with its expansive viewing area, allows users to view tremendous amounts of detailed data in full context, without the zooming or scrolling required with smaller monitors. It also eliminates the need to jump from screen to screen, a problem when multiple monitors are joined side by side. The monitor is especially useful for analyzing cross-sections, correlation panels and 2D seismic analysis in full resolution and size.

Data Integration Software

Geotrace announced the introduction of the first of its two-phased Diamond Integrated Geosciences Environment system, a software platform for processing and integrating the disparate data types and formats involved in E&P. In development for 17 months, the first phase of the platform is capable of processing and integrating data types such as seismic data, well logs, core data, production data and reservoir models, so that they can be accessed and used through one software platform. Phase two, which will increase the software platform’s functionality, is scheduled to be complete by year-end. The system was created to take full advantage of more modern hardware architectures, such as LINUX clusters and some of the new distributed data storage solutions. It was also expanded so that it fully integrates with Tigress services and software tools. While Diamond provides fast and efficient processing and the use of large seismic data volumes, Tigress offers the same capabilities for petrophysical, geological, production and other downstream data types.

Thermal Camera

With Bluetooth voice recording and a detector resolution 45% higher than the standard 320 ´ 240 pixels, the ThermoProTP8 thermal imager from Ametek Land can be used to inspect plants, buildings, structures and other targets. Users can capture thermal and visual images simultaneously within the measurement range of -4°F to 1472°F. The system can record dynamic radiometric sequences of moving targets in real time, and store up to 1,000 images on a 2-GB memory card. Automatic capabilities include hot spot and image center detection. Preferred operational settings can be saved and recalled. Inspection reports can be created quickly with a Microsoft Word interface using a pre-defined template or created manually by the user. Inspection reports can include thermal and visual images, measurement details, annotated text and other essential information. The TP8 uses a 384 3 288 infrared camera and a color 1280 3 1024 visual camera. Operators locate the scene to be inspected and press a button to save both high-resolution thermal and visual images, along with a voice recording of up to 30 seconds. An integrated laser locator helps to associate a hot spot shown in a thermal image with the real physical target. Up to eight areas can be analyzed simultaneously in live, zoomed, frozen or saved format.