The technology enables conventional ESP systems (pump, motor, and seal) to be run, retrieved, and redeployed safely on wireline without a rig. (Image courtesy os Zeitecs)

ESP shuttle lifts expectations

ZEiTECS has deployed the world’s first successful commercial electrical submersible pump (ESP) shuttle system. The technology enables conventional ESP systems (pump, motor, and seal) to be run, retrieved, and redeployed safely on wireline without a rig. Since wireline units can be mobilized in a matter of hours, unforeseen pump failures no longer have to result in days, weeks, or months of deferred or lost production, leading to significant cost savings.

The ESP Shuttle installation program in Petroleum Development Oman using Wood Group ESP pump systems demonstrated multiple electromechanical connections and reconnections of the ESP on wireline. After successful system startup, the complete ESP system was retrieved and redeployed via wireline after a month of operation. Production recommenced with well performance matching the historic performance of a tubing-conveyed ESP.

The ESP Shuttle system also was demonstrated at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center in Wyoming to representatives of four super-majors. The demonstration included three complete installations, redeployment, and operation of the ESP on wireline and 18 electromechanical connections and reconnections before the working system was retrieved for inspection — all without incident. www.zeitecs.com

Case-based reasoning engine improves drilling

A high percentage of non-productive time cases represent incidents that have occurred before. Thinking globally, it
is unreasonable to expect drilling personnel faced with a problem scenario to be able to recall details of all of the similar situations that have occurred and choose the best remediation tactic from an array of alternatives.

With this in mind, the engineers at Verdande Technology have developed DrillEdge technology, a software platform for storing and retrieving relevant drilling cases and linking them to real-time data. With the DrillEdge engine on the job, the current situation is constantly being refreshed in real time, while the engine sorts through the case database looking for the most closely matching scenarios. Should a problem occur, drilling team members can immediately access the most relevant cases along with the remedial tactic employed and the results obtained. If they decide to implement a solution from those presented, the results are added to the knowledge base — in short, the system learns as it goes, increasing its ability to deal with almost every situation, except perhaps a truly unique one that has never occurred before.

Better than the famous “black box” found on all passenger aircraft, DrillEdge technology is both diagnostic and predictive, not reactive. Using a constant update process, it reacts to changing parameters by changing the degree of relevance of the cases presented as example solutions. The driller has instant access to the most relevant solution to the current situation.

Case-based reasoning is the knowledge management technique by which problems and potential solutions are connected and evaluated in real time. With systematic learning and process improvement, it solves the problem of getting valuable documented experience into the hands of the drillers and engineers when and where they need it. www.verdandetechnology.com

Search technology unveiled

Melissa Data, in partnership with SpeedTrack Inc., has announced the availability of SpeedTrack — a new technology offering a completely new experience in terms of data storage, access, and analysis. Powered by the Guided Information Access Platform (GIA), users can find exactly what they are looking for simply by selecting from the unique words, characters, and values contained in the data. And SpeedTrack applications work with any type of stored data, including relational databases, text, email, PDF, Microsoft Office documents, and legacy databases.

“SpeedTrack works differently than traditional relational databases that simply store and index data,” said Jeff Pratt, SpeedTrack Inc.’s director of strategic development. “Rather than just storing data, SpeedTrack stores all the associations between the data and what it describes. By capturing the associations, SpeedTrack enables users to quickly find and retrieve answers contained in the data — turning data into actionable information.”

From a single interface, users can perform standardized and ad-hoc queries. They also can navigate, view, and perform comparative analytics on the entire range of information contained in a database. Because SpeedTrack’s technology works independently of how the data is stored or structured, it is an ideal solution to mine and manage legacy data — avoiding the costs and complexities associated with traditional data migration.

“One customer, a regional police agency in Ontario, Canada, increased its use and cut the cost of managing legacy data by more than 50% using SpeedTrack,” commented Pratt. www.MelissaData.com/SpeedTrack

Visualization solutions simplify deployment, reduce cost of ultra-high resolution systems NVIDIA has unveiled Quadro Plex solutions targeted at scalable visualization professionals who interact with 3-D models and analyze large volumes of data. The company’s cost-effective visual computing platforms are designed to power a wide range of ultra-high resolution and multichannel collaboration environments ranging from interpretation desktops to visualization walls to network operations centers.

Quadro Plex-based solutions enable professionals in fields such as energy exploration, architectural design, medical research, and consumer packaged goods to seamlessly run any software application across multiple ultra-high resolution displays or projectors, facilitating accurate and timely decision-making.

These flexible solutions are built on the NVIDIA Quadro Plex visual computing system, featuring two Quadro FX 5800 GPUs and 8 GB of memory. By connecting two Quadro Plex systems to a single workstation, users can view images at a resolution of 36 megapixels, span visuals across two 4K projectors or eight auto-synchronized displays, and drive stereoscopic 3-D content.

Quadro Plex scalable visualization solutions power environments where high-resolution images and real-time data feeds are blended for training, simulation, and operations monitoring. www.nvidia.com/svs

New system detects tool joints in risers with special sensors

AnTech Ltd. has designed a customized sensor system?for a major oil service company for use in a well intervention operation being carried out offshore Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. The deepwater, high-pressure field is situated in more than 6,000 ft (1,830 m) of water and is being developed using a permanently moored semisubmersible production and drilling facility.

Known as the Triple Sensor Tool Joint Detection System, or MDET-S, the new system is being used to detect tool joints in risers by measuring changes in magnetic fields that are triggered when a pipe joint passes through the field.

The new MDET-S was developed to improve the safety and efficiency of deploying tubing strings under pressure. It is comprised of two primary features:?
1) Three sets of two sensors; and
2) The control unit.

The sensors detect changes in the surrounding magnetic field when a tool joint passes by. The device senses the distortion caused by the additional thickness of the metal joint. No markers are required on the pipe joints.

Whenever it detects a shift of this nature in the magnetic field, the sensor emits an electrical signal, transmitting it to the control box. The control box receives the signal and responds by indicating that a tool joint has passed by a pair of sensors. The control box also transmits digital and analog signals to an external data acquisition system that transfers the readings produced to a file located on the technician’s laptop. The technician can then analyze this data and proceed, secure in the knowledge that the tool joint has reached its targeted destination.

Traditionally, locating tool joints is carried out by painstaking manual measurement and careful positioning of the tubing string, in relation to a specific visual point well above the blowout preventer stack.?The objective was to replace this manual method with a device that could automatically detect tool joints and alert the technician when the joint had moved into the field of sensors. www.antech.co.uk