Offshore staff
LONDON -- Centek has released the Itsfu internal drill string fill sub, designed to provide controlled drill string filling and prevent spillage of well drilling fluids onto the rig floor.
The Itsfu tool screws quickly and directly onto the drill string; it is a closed system for filling but with a telltale that ensures there is no over displacement or pressurization of the string fluid and no overspill. The Itsfu also allows the driller to pump at a higher controlled speed.
According to Centek, the Itsfu is a simple, low-maintenance answer to the problems of filling drill strings, including spillage, clean up time, safety, and volumetric loss control. In addition, the top drive saver sub threads are protected and need only be exposed for drilling. The top drive is also freed for picking up and making ready the next stand.
A cement application adaptor is available, which incorporates a foam ball or dart in a specially modified housing that allows for positive displacement when carrying out an inner string cement job.
The Itsfu is pressure tested to 5,000 psi and offers a flow rate of 600 1,000 gpm, with an internal bore of 3.75 in. (9.5 cm) and a 4.5 in. (11.4 cm) thread connection.
"With the Itsfu we believe we have a simple, reliable and cost-saving solution to filling the string and the common, time wasting and potentially dangerous problem of drill pipe spillage," says Cliff Berry, sales and marketing manager for Centek. "It gets its name from the 'it's fu' cry of the North Sea drillers as the drill pipe overflows."
07/10/2008
