The steady appearance of new rig designs is a pretty good indication that traditional rig designs were created with far less concern over efficiency than the times now demand. A lot of the oil field’s most exotic “enabling” technology seems to be in the exploration

Figure 1. Terra Invader 350 rig can drill to 19,686 ft (6,000 m). (All figures courtesy of Herrenknecht)
department. That’s a good thing. You can’t produce what you can’t find. But sooner or later, you’re going to have to bore a hole in the ground. New rig technology may not involve as many equations as the latest seismic processing technology, but it’s getting exotic in its own way. A few of these new concepts have shown up in this space previously.

As for now, elsewhere in this issue you can read about a new, containerized casing- while-drilling (CWD) unit. CWD technology is not new (anymore), but attempts such as this to employ it to maximum efficiency are.

The same company also touts its JBF 10000, a self propelled, semisubmersible drilling and pipe lay unit. The company says it has a DP-3 classification and is “…suitable for both drilling operations and field development operations.” One of the most interesting aspects of this rig is its Dual Multi Purpose Tower (DMPT) as the company calls it. One side of the tower is used for drilling operations and the other for construction activities. Two setback drums that look like giant vertical Gatling guns store 135-ft (41.1-m) stands.

Moving along to another interesting development, Herrenknecht Vertical GmbH designed and manufactures the Terra Invader 350 (Figures 1 and 2).

According to Herrenknecht, the design and equipment of this rig incorporate hands-off technology for work safety, low-waste operations and a sophisticated noise protection system. This makes the TI-350 particularly suited for geothermal drilling down to 19,686 ft (6,000 m) in proximity to urban areas. The company says there is a push on for geothermal drilling in Germany. It believes that technical solutions that drilling deep geothermal wells require can be applied to oil and gas wells.

The pipe handling system is one unique part of the rig’s design. The company claims that it can safely handle a maximum weight of 45 kN and a maximum length of two doubles(120 ft
Figure 2. Integrated pipe handler can lift up to 45 kN.
or 36.6 m). The overall design allows for conventional drillpipe and casing operations.
The horizontal, magnetic pipe-racking system has a pipe racker that travels across the entire storage area on rails. The magnetic traverse provides the catwalk with joints of pipe or transports them back to their storage place. The load magnets have a 10-minute buffer in case of power failure. Non-magnetic or magnetically sensitive parts are manually handled with slings.

The pipe handler claws move tubulars from horizontal to vertical. An anti-collision system is integrated between the pipe handler, pipe rack and drilling rig.

It could stand a friendlier name, but the Terra Invader is another promising development in what could be described, compared to an earlier era, as a frenzied pace of drilling rig development. Stay tuned for more to come.

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