Commercial debut of wired-pipe telemetry system reveals extremely high speed for delivery of MWD-LWD, other downhole data in ‘really’ real time
The future of drilling most likely will be enhanced significantly by dint of the recently announced commercialization of an intelligent drill string system that, among other things, is capable of bi-directional communication of real-time borehole and formation data at unprecedented high rates of speed, using hard-wired drill pipe as the carrier.
The impact of this advanced telemetry transmission system on the MWD-LWD market ultimately should be equally striking, as well.
In essence, The IntelliServ® Network, operating as a division of Houston-based Grant Prideco™, provider of premium drilling and completion products and services, has introduced the industry’s first commercial high-bandwidth wired drill pipe and drill collars. The open architecture of the system enables connectivity to the BHA components supplied by any provider of downhole tools and services, as well. The company has worked with a number of oilfield equipment suppliers to modify various drill string tools, including drilling jars, reamers and surface safety valves, to accept the hard wire architecture when used with the network.
The IntelliServ System’s suite of components also includes a top drive sub incorporating the hard-wire telemetry, which allows transmission of the signal to a data acquisition system even though the sub incorporates a rotating joint.
At the heart of the network are premium-grade Grant Prideco drilling tubulars in several sizes modified to hold a high-strength electrical cable that runs along the inner wall of each length of drill pipe without affecting either pipe integrity or throughput. Continuity of the signal along the entire drill string is provided through circular inductive couplers on the pin nose and corresponding box shoulder of each tool joint.
Enormous data transmission rates
Hard wire connection of all drill string components enables the network to transmit data bi-directionally at the rate of 57,000 bits/second currently, says the company, with an upgrade to an astounding 1 million bits/second scheduled for the end of this year. This can be compared to conventional mud-pulse telemetry, whose rates only recently were raised to the 10-12 bits/second range.
In addition to providing the high bandwidth, two-way transmission of downhole data and commands in real time, the system reduces risk and increases drilling performance in a number of ways, said Maximo “Max” Hernandez, IntelliServ business development manager. Among other benefits, he said, are that it:
- Enhances drilling efficiency by enabling real-time monitoring of high-density wellbore dynamics and detection of conditions affecting wellbore stability, including pore pressure, shock and vibration.
- Permits longer step-outs for extended-reach drilling with no loss of signal intensity made possible by signal boosters placed strategically along the wired drill string.
- Enables reliable telemetry during underbalanced drilling, since the hard wire architecture is unaffected by fluid or gas or lost circulation material.
- Optimizes remote control of rotary steerable drilling systems, including those with closed-loop capabilities.
- Enables the application of true real-time “look ahead” seismic-while-drilling technology.
- Requires no special handling, orientation or thread compounds.
Redundant telemetry… for now
Additionally, said Hernandez, “the system offers telemetry redundancy-an industry first-to run in parallel with both the mud-pulse and electromagnetic (EM) telemetry used by providers of MWD-LWD tools and services.” And, he added, “all major service providers in the while-drilling sector have developed or are engaged in designing interface subs.”
But while IntelliServ recognizes the merit that such redundancy provides, the company looks to the future of the system in terms of all BHA components eventually being redesigned to fit in with the system’s high-speed wired pipe data transmission capability, said Hernandez.
“Timing in the market is important,” he said. “We have a product of which oil company customers can take advantage from the standpoints of drilling engineering, geology and geophysics. The MWD-LWD service companies, in turn, have the ability to maximize the value of their measurements, now obtaining highly defined, real-time data.”
“However,” he said, “while the IntelliServ system is more rugged than mud-pulse systems, neither we nor the service companies are focusing on eliminating other types of telemetry at this time.”
But in the end, he noted, the greatest value of the IntelliServ Network technology is still its capability to transmit real-time, bi-directional MWD-LWD data at very high speeds.
A number of service company MWD-LWD and rotary steerable systems already are compatible with wired drill pipe telemetry. According to Grant Prideco officials, a variety of downhole tools, including Baker Hughes INTEQ’s CoPilot® advanced drilling dynamics service and OnTrak™ integrated MWD-LWD service, have been successfully deployed in U.S. and Canadian field trails. Other tools successfully applied include the ReedHycalog® DRT (Drilling Research Tool), the company noted.
A fairly fast transition
Noting that the IntelliServ Network has been field proven in the extensive trials in the U.S. and Canada, Grant Prideco officials said that since 2004, a 14,000-foot IntelliServ drill string deployed for BP in Oklahoma and a 10,000-ft string deployed for Anadarko Canada in Alberta have combined to drill 18 wells, accumulating more than 6,000 operating hours while drilling a total of 180,000 ft. Operations in Canada are slated to continue as part of the still ongoing demonstration and testing program.
Additionally, the company is negotiating to provide IntelliServ strings commercially elsewhere around the world, including a contact pending for the North Sea area.