December 2004 Supplement    Rig Floor Equipment

Pipe racking system for normal rigs

Many large, state-of-the-art offshore units and other sophisticated, expensive rigs have benefited from modern pipe racking systems. These systems allow a single person, usually sitting in an enclosed cabin, to rack pipe and deliver it to well center in a remote-controlled and safe manner, without need for a person at the fingerboard level. But, due to the relatively high installed costs associated with the equipment and requisite rig modifications, use of such systems has been isolated to only the highest day-rate rigs. However, most of the rigs doing the drilling and tripping in the world are not high day-rate rigs, but could still benefit from the advantages – if the racking systems could be installed cost-effectively on existing rigs.

The Varco Compact Racker can be retrofitted to most rigs to improve racking safety and efficiency.

The Varco Compact Racker (VCR) from Varco International, is a racking assist arm that can adapt to almost any rig fingerboard on almost any rig, land or offshore. It consists of a lightweight, powerful and versatile pipe racking arm located under the derrick man’s work platform, using a fixed mechanical arm that rotates and extends to assist in hoisting and manipulating drill pipe and guiding drill collars efficiently between the setback position and well center. The system removes the derrick man from potential hazards associated with tripping pipe while, at the same time, meeting or exceeding the performance of manual tripping. This system puts attributes of advanced racking into a package suitable for “normal” rigs.

The advent of simple and rig-appropriate controls for drilling rig equipment has helped make the VCR possible. Previously, the sophistication and complexity of controls required to manipulate a mechanical arm around the fingerboard led to many support/ reliability issues. The sheer number of sensors and controllers, and cables and lines of software code dictated need for technicians with extensive training and expertise, plus a skilled technician to operate the machine. The complexity was not well suited for traditional drill floor environments.

Introduction of the Single Board Computer took the use of robotic controls from other industries to the rig floor with simple pictorial operator interfaces to set up automated sequences. Wireless remote controls also make installation/ operation simple and intuitive. The first system has been operating on a land rig in the Middle East; the second has been purchased for a jackup. The VCR provides land and small offshore rig operations the opportunity to reach new levels of safety and efficiency, with the benefits of systems once reserved for large rig operations.