Core Drill
Core drill
A core drill is a drill specifically designed to remove a cylinder of material, much like a hole saw. The material left inside the drill bit is referred to as the core.
Core drills are used for many applications, either where the core needs to be preserved or where drilling can be done more rapidly since much less material needs to be removed by using core drill than with a standard bit.
This is the reason that diamond-tipped core drill are commonly used in construction to create holes for pipes, manholes, and other large-diameter penetrations in concrete or stone.
Core drill are used frequently in mineral exploration where the coring may be several hundred to several thousand feet in length. The core samples are recovered and examined by geologists for mineral percentages and stratigraphic contact points.
This gives exploration companies the information necessary to begin or abandon mining operations in a particular area. From wikipedia, core drill.
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Pressure Transducer Applications in the Offshore Oil Industry
The world wide offshore oil industry uses many types of pressure transducer for control and measurement in processes, drilling controls and downhole tools. With the need to find oil in more inaccessible places the equipment used in exploration, drilling and production becomes ever more complex and the use of pressure transducer products is on the increase.
A few uses for pressure transducer sensors are :
Wellheads
Wellhead assemblies and Christmas tree use a range of pressure transducer sensors to monitor wellhead pressure. Due to the hazardous area the pressure transducer has to be of intrinsically safe or explosion proof design. A pressure transducer used in this application also needs to be rugged and weatherproof. The Omni series 23EXD and 23IS pressure transducer types meet both of these requirements.
Downhole Tools
Various types of pressure transducer are used in downhole tools to monitor hydraulic pressure, and pipeline oil pressure. Often a high pressure transducer is required, with a high operating temperature range due to the extreme environment. The Omni series 10 and series 8 pressure transducer models offer ranges up to 1000 bar with operating temperatures up to 150 degrees C.
Subsea Hydraulic Manifolds
Subsea hydraulic packs are used for various control applications in offshore oil production. Subsea hydraulic packs may use up to 10 pressure transducer units. The pressure transducer has to be made to the smallest design, and be able to work with high external case pressures. In this instance the pressure transducer may have the external housing removed with the bare PCB exposed to the environment to reduce the profile, with oil filling used to stop any seawater ingress.
Intelligent Pigs
Subsea pipe lines are tested on a regular basis with an intelligent pig. The pig may be fitted with several pressure transducer types to monitor pipeline pressure, and hydraulic pressure. Also a differential pressure transducer may be used to measure the difference in pressure between the front and back of the pig. As these devices are usually battery powered it is important to select a pressure transducer with low power consumption. The Omni series 10 pressure transducer only draws around 1mA and is ideal for these applications.
Core Analysis
In core analysis an oil sample may be forced at high pressure through a section of rock core. A pressure transducer in this application needs to provide high accuracy measurement up to 10,000 PSI and be constructed of either hastelloy or monel to avoid corrosion of the diaphragm. The Omni series 23 and 25 pressure transducer meets this requirement.
Drilling Mud Systems
It is often a requirement to use a pressure transducer in mud flow lines. In these applications a pressure transducer with a flush diaphragm is required. This is because with a normal pressure transducer the pressure port is only 3 mm diameter, and is prone to clogging with mud particles. The Omni series 25 pressure transducer have a G1/2” or G3/4” flush diaphragm and can e supplied in EXD or IS format for hazardous area use.
By : Jim Furness
Technological Innovation in the Natural Gas Industry
Sophisticated technology is being used today in the exploration and production of natural gas and oil. Technology is offering a huge contribution in providing low cost, environmentally sound methods of extracting these resources. Companies like, Western Pipeline Corporation, use these technologies extensively. The economics of producing natural gas are being improved as deposits formerly considered too uneconomic to develop are now feasible.
Natural gas deposits are being found deeper and deeper in the ground in remote, challenging areas. These technologies make the exploration and production more efficient, safe and environmentally friendly.
The major technological innovations are :
3-D and 4-D Seismic Imaging - 3-D seismic imaging creates a three-dimensional model of the subsurface layers and 4-D expands on this, by adding time as a dimension, allowing exploration teams to observe how subsurface characteristics change over time
CO2 - Sand fracturing involves using a mixture of sand propants and liquid CO2 to fracture formations, creating and enlarging cracks through which oil and natural gas may flow more freely. This type of fracturing does not damage the deposit, generates no below ground wastes and protects groundwater resources.
Coiled Tubing - Coiled tubing technologies replace the traditional rigid, jointed drill pipe with a long, flexible coiled pipe string. This greatly reduces the cost of drilling, as well as providing a smaller drilling footprint, requiring less drilling mud, faster rig set up, and reducing the time normally needed to make drill pipe connections.
Slimhole Drilling - Slimhole drilling is exactly as it sounds; drilling a slimmer hole in the ground to get to natural gas and oil deposits. Because of its low cost profile and reduced environmental impact, slimhole drilling provides a method of economically drilling exploratory wells in new areas, drilling deeper wells in existing fields, and providing an efficient means for extracting more natural gas and oil from undepleted fields.
Offshore Drilling Technology - Natural gas and oil deposits are being found at locations that are deeper and deeper underwater. New technology, including improved offshore drilling rigs, dynamic positioning devices and sophisticated navigation systems are allowing safe, efficient offshore drilling in waters more than 10,000 feet deep.
New technologies and applications are constantly being developed. Two other technologies that are drastically changing the natural gas industry are liquefied natural gas and natural gas fuel cells. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is valuable for the transportation of natural gas because LNG takes up about one six hundredth the volume of gaseous natural gas. Fuel cells powered by natural gas have the ability to generate electricity using electrochemical reactions as opposed to combustion of fossil fuels to generate clean and efficient electricity.
By : Bob Jent