WELL CONTROL & PRESSURE CONTROL EQUIPMENT
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Figure 1: In the event of a developing well control incident, response time is key to
how the event will turn out. A best-case scenario is one where the incident is spot-
ted early, the well is shut in, and the influx is safely circulated out of the hole .

possibly due to system elements failing
through exposure to extreme heat or pres-
sure (explosion).

There are two key stages to a successful
manual shut-in:
■ a. The well must be spaced out correctly
■ b. The chosen annular or rams must
close There is one key stage to a successful
remote shut-in.

■ a. The rams must close
When developing new technology, the
research teams sought to address these
main challenges:
■ 1. Reduce risk of an attempted shut-in
with incorrectly spaced-out string in hole.

■ 2. In the event of serious incident, allow
(or mandate) the crew to evacuate to a safe
distance from the rig site before function-
ing the final BOP element.

■ 3. Ensure the equipment remains func-
tional long enough to execute a remote
shut-in command.

Auto Well Space Out
The Auto Well Space Out technology
constantly monitors the position of tool
joints above and below the rig floor level
to calculate and inform the driller if the
required BOP can be reliably functioned
or if the drill string needs to be moved. In
addition to being an advisory system, on
some rigs, the BOP control system can be
updated to prevent the operator function-
ing ram close. On other rig systems the
hoisting system can be set to automati-
cally adjust the drill string to space out
when a tool joint proximity is calculated.

It works by using one or more high-
definition cameras positioned at approxi-
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Figure 2: Expansion of safe time windows with the ability to remotely function a BOP
system to shut in a well.

28 mately 30 ft on the rig floor to observe the
well center. The camera(s) have sufficient
resolution to detect changes to the drill
string position and properties, including
drill pipe outside diameter (OD) as it is
deployed into and out of the wellbore.

Image data from the camera(s) is fed to
an Edge gateway processor, which com-
bines the data with operator input parame-
ters to calculate the relative position of the
string when moving it into and out of the
well. By continually tracking the positions
of the larger OD sections (tool joints) and
knowing the fixed positions of the BOP
ram components (Figure 3), it is possible
to dynamically calculate the positions of
those tool joints or other larger compo-
nents relative to BOP position. To ensure
accuracy, it is important that the camera
has visibility of at least one tool joint or
major tubular OD change at all times.

In another application, the plan view
position of the tubular string is monitored
for centralization through the rotary table,
which can be significant for some BOP
ram functionality and in other drilling
operations. Figure 4 details the control loops asso-
ciated with primary function processes.

Data input comes from two sources: opera-
tor and camera image. The operator input
is low-frequency data of the type that
changes less than once per day on average,
whilst the camera provides parameters
that update at a frequency greater than 1
Hz. Both data sources feed into the Edge
Gateway Processor unit. After processing
and storage, data is output to multiple
locations. In the simplest application of the tech-
nology, a traffic light human-machine
interface (HMI) allows the user operat-
ing the BOP panel to identify a potential
problem that would prevent a reliable well
seal. Such information allows the driller to
proceed with immediately shutting in the
BOP if “green,” or selecting an alternative
BOP in the stack or moving the string to
ensure there is no clash if “red.”
Wireless Remote BOP Control
The Wireless Remote BOP control sys-
tem provides the rig crew an opportunity
to evacuate earlier, increasing the potential
to save lives. In blowout incidents that
result in rig fires, the rig crew is often inca-
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 • DRILLING CONTRACTOR