EXPLORATION • DRILLING • FIELD SERVICES
Deeper underground
6,000ft borehole drilled with support of compact solids control system
A
n innovative solids control system has been implemented at the Catoosa Test Facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. T e facility is the largest
privately owned and operated downhole testing facility in the USA, with clients including NOV, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Scientifi c Drilling, Enventure, Weatherford, Baker Hughes, GE and more. Over a two-week period, multiple downhole tools and technologies were tested to drill the borehole, which was the deepest the facility had ever drilled. T e MudCube system from Cubility, which has been used in both water-based and oil-based mud tests at Catoosa, is believed to be the industry’s fi rst compact solids control system that eliminates the traditional process of shaking fl uid and solids. T is is achieved via a compact, vacuum-based fi ltration system that removes solids from drilling fl uids through a rotating fi lter belt that uses high airfl ow to separate the cuttings from fl uids. T e improved separation capabilities of the system leads to better quality mud, fewer chemicals required to maintain its properties, more mud recycled back to the mud tanks to be reused for drilling, and less waste that is also ‘cleaner’. T e remote, automated operations of the MudCube and its enclosed system also reduce vibration and bring considerable workplace and HSE benefi ts. Duane Buckmaster, partner of Catoosa
Test Facility, states: “Since the MudCubes went into operation on our new triple testing rig in mid-2016 – meeting very tight installation timescales – they have surpassed expectations.”
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drilling operations, so the MudCube is redefi ning the management of fl uids and waste in drilling today. We are delighted to be working with the leading testing facility in the USA and enabling their clients to see at fi rst hand the better mud quality, improved effi ciencies and reduced and cleaner waste the system provides.”
DIVERSE DRILLING TESTING T e Catoosa Test Facility currently has 15 cased test wells with casing sizes up to 20in wide and 2,000ft deep and is capable of performing almost any type of drilling technology and evaluation downhole test. Many new drilling technologies are tested at the site and on-site equipment includes drilling rigs, wireline units and a drilling fl uids laboratory as well as on-site technical management and coordination. To date, MudCubes have been installed
on North Sea, Middle East, Far East, South American and North American drilling sites off shore and onshore. In 2016, Cubility partnered with EQT Corporation, a US-based company that has become one of the fastest growing natural gas producers in the Marcellus Shale. T e system is particularly applicable
onshore, where the rise in drilling costs and declining oil price has increased operator needs to monitor the bottom line as well as meet stringent environmental controls. Initial cost analysis based on various land operations from a fl uid cost and disposal standpoint show the solution reducing overall operating expenses by as much as 15% per well. ●
He continues: “T eir reliability, ability to quickly change screen requirements and reduce downtime plus provide substantial savings in facility waste costs and dryer cuttings – compared to our original test rig using conventional shakers – has impressed all our clients. It has also enabled us to drill such a deep well without increased solid control issues.” Brandon Buzarde at Cubility comments: “Just as Catoosa is a technology innovator in the fi eld of
Main: The Catoosa Test Facility in Oklahoma Above: Cubility’s MudCube enabled the facility to drill its deepest ever well
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