HOUSTON /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- Gyrodata Inc., a leading supplier of high-technology wellbore positioning services to the worldwide energy industry, announced the commercial introduction of its new Well-Guide RSS 7-100 rotary steerable drilling system.
The Well-Guide 7-100 drilling system uses point-the-bit technology to drill borehole sizes from 8 3/8 to 9 7/8 inches in diameter. Incorporating all the proven technology of its larger counterpart—the Well-Guide 10-300 series for hole sizes from 12 1/4 to 22 inches—the new 7-100 series is expected to provide the same high degree of accuracy, reliability, and borehole quality.
Robert McMahan, president and COO of Gyrodata, stated that: "Our Well-Guide technology has several important features that differentiate it from other systems. First, to my knowledge, it's the only rotary steerable system that provides fully automated 3D control on its own. The tool is constructed totally of nonmagnetic material, allowing it to house a complete magnetic guidance system in a nonrotating collar close to the bit. Other tools must rely on some directional readings from instruments located above their tools; these surveys are often infrequent and necessitate time-consuming communication to and from the surface to make course corrections. Well-Guide, on the other hand, takes a full 3D near-bit survey every 60 to 90 seconds and automatically adjusts the well trajectory according to a preprogrammed course. Frequent surveys and automatic correction save time and provide a much faster response to course change for smoother, more accurate drilling. If intervention from the surface is required, we communicate with the tool through pipe rotation without interrupting the drilling process."
Other aspects of the Well-Guide technology, as pointed out by McMahan, include the tool's large thru-bore, leading to the lowest pressure loss in the industry and resulting in maximum flow rates and optimum hole cleaning with less risk of stuck pipe. Combined with two full-gauge rotating stabilizers, the system's point-the-bit capability, and continuous automatic trajectory control, these features have enabled Well-Guide to drill smooth, high-quality wellbores exactly according to plan for operators in many areas of the world.
The Well-Guide 10-300 technology has proven itself in over 100 commercial bit runs in a wide range of conditions, from the softer formations in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and offshore California to the hard and difficult formations in the Rocky Mountains, onshore Italy, and offshore Netherlands. Applications have included holding vertical, kicking off from vertical, near horizontal drilling, and complex 3D trajectories. With respect to reliability, Well-Guide has been drilling record runs exceeding 150 rotating hours downhole. To date, the Well-Guide 7-100 system has performed eight commercial runs, three in the Gulf of Mexico and five in the North Sea.
"The introduction of the 7-100 series significantly broadens the scope of our services in the smaller hole sizes and increases our potential market share of wells utilizing rotary steerable systems," said McMahan. "Our goal with Well-Guide has been to combine our extensive experience in guidance-system development with the expertise of Cambridge Drilling Automation, a rotary steerable drilling company we acquired in 2002, to deploy a new level of state-of-the-art rotary steerable technology. Well-Guide is living up to that goal, providing cost-saving performance and optimum borehole quality and placement. Drilling an accurately positioned, smooth wellbore not only enhances an operator's current drilling and completion operations, it provides significant savings over the life of the well and optimizes reservoir recovery."
Gyrodata Inc. is based in Houston, Tex., and has development and manufacturing facilities in Houston and in the U.K. The company was founded in 1980 and is one of the largest providers of high-accuracy rate-gyroscopic survey and guidance services, with operations throughout the energy producing regions of the world.