Vol. 226 No. 12

Rig Floor Equipment

Drilling simulator reduces unplanned events

International drilling operator, KCA Deutag’s DART virtual real-time drilling simulators are changing training in the drilling industry. The main DART facility is located in Aberdeen, Scotland, and another mobile system is located in Baku, Azerbaijan, which is training Azeri personnel.

Realism for simulated drilling and well engineering is created using computer-generated 3D graphics, real-time simulation and sound effects. Operators and contractors can “drill” wells in the full-size simulator using their own crews, which provides an effective way of reducing unplanned events.

The mini-DART allows companies to train their personnel on location.

“Both facilities are being used to give operators’ graduate engineers the opportunity to gain from some hands-on training, with several operators expressing an interest in establishing similar facilities as far apart as the USA, Norway and Sakhalin Island,” said Roger Hodgson, Head of Well Engineering Services for KCA Deutag. “The Aberdeen facility continues, its base mechanized rig equipment training having been recently upgraded to replicate the Lunskoye-A drilling facilities.”

This summer, the company launched the mini-DART, a portable simulator. Incorporating the same features as the full-size DART, but on a smaller scale, the mini-DART allows companies to train their personnel on location without risk to people or the environment. It is helping to improve safety performance, productivity and efficiency of personnel, and is expected to eliminate unnecessary well costs and reduce downtime. Training available on the simulator includes advanced well control, rig pre-start-ups, drillstring failure and specific operator developed courses.

Drilling a well is not just a theoretical engineering exercise. Drilling engineers rely on years of experience to anticipate problems and deal with the unexpected. They also know that safety is paramount. With increasing use of leading-edge technologies, it is even more important that drilling crews learn in a safe environment, and for engineers to run scenarios without compromising live operations.

Customers training with DART benefit from:

• The lack of risk to personnel and environment
• Enhanced competence
• Improved safety
• Improved productivity and efficiency
• Reduced well costs
• Reduced downtime.

The DART facility in Aberdeen has full-scale copies of an offshore platform and land rig drill floors and doghouses, complete with touch screen consoles for drillers and assistant drillers. Three-dimensional graphics of the rig’s drillfloor and equipment are projected onto a 60-ft long screen surrounding the dog house. As the driller operates the rig equipment, the surface simulator provides realistic moving graphics and sounds to simulate what the driller sees and hears on a rig. Scenarios and engineering outcomes are generated independently by DART’s simulators and the scenarios are not always predictable to the trainers and trainees.

Downhole simulations can be programmed with details of geology, pressure, fluids, casings, BHAs, and other information, tailored to represent the subsurface conditions of any well. Unwelcome occurrences, such as well control, stuck pipe, etc. can be simulated easily, creating realistic drilling situations. Problems can include:

• Kicks 
• Loss of circulation 
• Bit nozzle plugging 
• Key seating 
• Tight hole, swab and surge 
• ECD effects
• Stuck pipe 
• High-pressure reservoirs.

Many operators now bring their difficult drilling programs to the simulator to refine them before putting them into practice. The power and realism of simulation can also be tailored to place individuals or teams under pressure, to assist team building and the test an organization’s effectiveness. Emergency response and similar scenario-based exercises can be conducted.

DART’s training program provides drillers with a clear understanding of principals and procedures, enhanced safety awareness, individual practice of difficult scenarios, enhanced well design, enhanced drilling performance, enhanced communications and team building, all leading to improved proactivity.