WELL CONTROL & PRESSURE CONTROL EQUIPMENT
pacitated from the start, which escalates
the severity of the incident. After a certain
point, no one is able to manually shut in
the well because they are either trapped,
injured or, unfortunately, dead.
A wireless remote shut-in has only one
function – an emergency closure of the
BOPs. The system is only hooked up to one
set of rams. It is to be operated as a last
resort when the situation has deteriorated
to a point where it is the only option left.
With regulators reluctant to authorize
the use of wireless communications in
well control applications, the research
teams sought a supplementary solution
that could provide additional functionality
without affecting or compromising exist-
ing systems and procedures .
To this end, an additional set of rams
is added to the BOP stack, which will be
actuated by the wireless controller. These
are blind shear rams designed to sever the
pipe and seal the wellbore; at this stage in
the incident, space out may no longer be
an option .
The system hardware is described in
Figure 5. An additional set of rams (item
2) is added to the stack and connected to
a dedicated hydraulic power unit (HPU)
(item 7), which in turn is connected to a
wireless base station with local controls
(item 8). The base station is situated at
the rig site and contains the PLC, HMI and
radio telemetry device. The base station
acts as a monitoring point for the HPU
and controls and as a secondary control
station. It allows the ram open function,
operationally required for system testing
and training. Additionally, the base station
hosts a UPS and a user display showing
key operating parameters, such as ram
close pressure (trend), ram open pressure
and accumulator pressure.
The BOP ram can be functioned from
the base station or from a wireless por-
table control station (item 9). In addition
to closing the ram, the wireless station
provides status feedback and strength of
the radio link. The portable unit is mount-
ed in a carry case suitable for shock,
vibration, sand and heat exposure. The
device has an HMI to provide process
status with instructions and feedback on
use. Valve operation is a multi-stage pro-
cess to prevent accidental or unauthorized
BOP activation. All switches and buttons
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Figure 3: The Auto Well Space Out technology tracks the positions of the larger OD
sections by using one or more high-definition cameras on the rig floor to observe
the well center .
have covers to reduce the chance of mis-
operation. The portable station has continu-
ous backup power, with the ability to be
charged either from a mains power supply
or an electrical point in a vehicle. The light
weight of the unit allows for flexibility in its
use. At rig sites where H2S may be present,
it would be advantageous to not house the
Operator Data Input
parameters Rig data
network Safety and
efficiency KPI
generation unit in a fixed location, which may end up
being downwind of a release. Instead, the
unit can be located in a truck, which can be
moved to a safe location upwind to operate.
Upgrades to BOP
hydraulic hoses
The successful operation of the remote
shutdown system (or the existing BOP
Camera Input
parameters PROCESSOR
Data Logger
Traffic light BOP
“clash” interface
Rig Control network or
direct link to equipment
control: Drawworks, BOP
Control Panel
Operator takes
Action Drill String
Movement Automatic Action
Well Control Incident
Figure 4: Data flow and control loop of the Auto Well Space Out technology.
DRILLING CONTRACTOR • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
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