Offshore staff
STRAUME, Norway – Enhanced Drilling and Transocean have developed the Enhanced Kick Detection system (EKD).
This is said to eliminate the external effects of rig and slip-joint motion, leading to an accurate return volume flow measurement that allows swift detection of flow anomalies, and reduced time spent on flow-checking.
The new system, which is now available for offshore deployment, draws on experience over the past 20 years with Enhanced Drilling’s controlled mud level (CML), riserless mud recovery (RMR), and managed pressure drilling (MPD) technologies.
It was tested and qualified during the fall of last year at Enhanced Drilling’s test facilities in Straume in a program that included simulation of historical real-life kick incidents.
The system enabled detection of gain and loss within 2 min at inflow rates of 10 lpm / 2.5 gpm with a 6,000 lpm / 1,500 gpm pumping flowrate and more than -+ 2 m/ 7’ of heave. Throughout the campaign the DNVGL Technology Qualification DNV-RP-A23 (TQP) process was applied, and at the end of onshore testing the DNVGL Technology Certificate was issued.
The EDR Enhanced Kick and Loss Detection system is said to remove the effect of slip-joint motion from the volume balance, incorporating fingerprinting for connections and other transient flow-conditions.
This provides the driller with a continuous flow-check and should reduce time spent on flow-checking. According to Enhanced Drilling, the system is basically an inline trip tank, in which a flow spool is placed directly below the diverter housing. The fluid returns enter the flow spool and are then pumped out by a VFD-driven pump skid and back to the rig flowline.
By continuously measuring the slip-joint position and correcting for associated volume changes, the system is said to facilitate continuous flow monitoring during all well stages to accurately show well stability, alerting users and systems to kick/loss events.
03/26/2021
