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Manufacturing & Engineering

What We Need to Know About Geothermal Drilling Rigs?

To see to it that the use of a large number of geotechnical construction techniques is successful, it’s a must to have efficient and safe drilling of boreholes regardless of the existing ground conditions you may be working on. Things can go for the worse if you will make use of inappropriate methods and means or the wrong kind of geothermal drilling rigs, particularly the structural conditions of ground properties by which the construction method is intending to address or rectify. 

There are a handful of specialty geotechnical construction processes that necessitates hole drilling via rock or overburden. Such construction processes include anchoring, grouting, soil nailing, micro piling, and ground freezing. Typically, these holes come in 3 to 12 inches in diameter. It is also very scarce to find them come more than 200 feet deep. 

platform rig

These holes would also vary in their inclination. Some are vertically upwards while others would be seen as vertically downwards. Most holes would be seen in freezing, micro piling, and grouting within 30 degrees of vertical. While rock masses are naturally variable with respect to their structure, overburden, and strength – coming from the drilling point of view – this would usually present far greater difficulties and challenges to any drilling contractor. 

Overburden is often seen as a non-lithified material.  Nature itself forms or deposits them. There are instances also that humans create them. These materials could range from loose and soft down to something hard and dense. They can also come as something dry or saturated. 

Overburdens can also contain artificial or atypical horizons or inclusions. This scenario may present a problem in terms of ground penetration. For instance, deep foundations in soils or boulders as well as shallow fill foundations and utility trenches. These conditions will be presenting the contractor with a good amount of challenge to work on, who obviously for financial reasons, are much more interested in drilling the needed holes as quickly as possible. 

However, specific projects may necessitate performance requirements or significant restrictions.

Drilling systems are effective when they can deliver straight and continuous penetration in different kinds of ground soil. This ground soil being worked on could range from something extremely hard to something very soft.  

It is also of utmost importance that your geothermal drilling rigs can provide you with a constant diameter from which the drilling debris can be taken. Most of the time this is consistent with what is required by the specialty construction process that it is serving. They will make use of the right amounts of rotary speed, thrust, torque, and percussive effort to reach their target in the most possible economical way. 

Also, drilling rigs should be enhancing the level of efficiency of the used flushing medium. As for the ground conditions, it should determine the cost notwithstanding, even if regional experience and historical bias will have a strong impact on the choice. The technique to be used can be identified by the application.  

It is also crucial that the method you will employ is aligned with the current existing project environmental restraints such as vibrations, noise, flush control, and disposal.  The hole itself should be utilized only for the purpose it is intended to be used on, like the anchor tendon installation,  as soon as possible right after drilling work is done. This measure will help in minimizing any time-dependent factors that induce deterioration of its walls. 

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Manufacturing & Engineering

What is the Future of Drill Rig Companies?

The world today is now enjoying the service of around 270 offshore gas and oil drill rig companies. 

Most of them that hold their operations in shallower waters are run either by jack-up rigs or fixed rigs. On the other hand, those that are run in water that is at least 500 feet deep usually have subsea or floating rigs, instead. 

With respect to the history of a rig drilling industry, drilling and digging into the earth past its surface is undeniably a capital, labor, and energy-intensive activity. However, we are seeing now a silver lining on this as things are about to change. For instance, typical scenarios on land sites based on solar or wind to power rigs have now commenced to take off.

Drill rig companies that now operate in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea are manned by at least 50 to 200 people, depending on how big or small the rig is.

However, these numbers are anticipated to take a plunge with the impending application of artificial intelligence technology or A.I. since rig sites that are located in deep-sea waters are often the preserve of A.I.-run robots. These robots though are being manned by humans who are stationed in onshore control centers.

At present, the cost for offshore rigs would be averaging around US$650m. This amount is 20 times higher when compared to the land rig average cost. But rig design industrialization and production is likely going to pull down the costs in the coming years. 

Optimizing Efficiency with New Technology 

There is no other direction now for drilling but to become even more efficient. Cloud computing, in conjunction with big data analysis software, is creating beautiful changes to how we collect, analyze, and monitor collected drilling data. 

When it comes to obtaining balance in fluid pressures, and accurate measurement of hydraulic, mechanical, and engineering drilling data is crucial. They are also essentially important in optimizing the drilling process as well as for the maintenance of a safe operating environment. 

industrial drill

The Colorado School of Mines suggested that when 2050 comes our current used traditional drilling solutions will be replaced by chemical industrial lasers. Right now, we have to take major strides before this technology could even become commercially competitive with traditional drilling methods. 

Certainly, drill rig companies working in fields that currently have a yield of less than 10% can significantly improve by implementing the use of lasers.  

As of this writing Total’s Alwyn platform is being tested out by AI-enabled robots. These AI-equipped robots are sophisticated in terms of technology they use. 

They are also equipped with sensors that will allow them to understand whatever it is that is transpiring to their immediate environment, whereas algorithms will make it possible for them to act, plan and interact with their environment and with humans. 

As for other robots, they carry out visual inspections. They can also identify leaks in gas as part of the US$47.5m ORCA program or Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets.

The said program is geared towards the development of autonomous and semi-autonomous robots (AI-enabled) that can repair, inspect, and certify and maintain offshore-energy facilities. In the not so distant future, this is likely to become the norm, the new standard.  

But right now, the prospect of having an offshore industry that is fully automated is such a big risk, because artificial intelligence is practically still in its infancy stage. Much like how Phillips puts it, “AI learning is an imposing challenge, especially when the unfolding of relevant events is unpredictable or undeterminable.  

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Manufacturing & Engineering

How Would You Know A Good Value Sonic Drill?

If your kind of work or nature of your business is in line with the mineral oil exploration industry, you understand the invaluable role that a good sonic drill has to your success, right? Your team’s strong, collective amount of effort to find a top-caliber drill will pay off the moment that you start to win project drilling bids and you are completing those projects one after another within client-stipulated time. This is how your business and your brand of offered services will survive and leave an indelible mark in the business.  

mining industry

However, it is very risky for your brand and company to get into the habit of buying just about any random drill rigs that you will come across with. There are many factors around this that you need to take into consideration, and all these variables are likely going to have an effect or influence your decision.  

Don’t get yourself into the habit of buying a drill rig or any tool or business equipment for that matter in a spontaneous and unpremeditated way. Doing so runs the risk of putting your business’ name and interest on the frontline. The price to pay might overwhelm you in the end, so definitely it is not going to be worth it, ever. 

If you are intending to acquire a sonic type of drill or any piece of high-value equipment you are intending to use for your operations, ask yourself how it will help your team in generating more profit for your business. Or how will it make your deliverables processed faster? Can it make your processes seamless? Or would it cost you so much more just owning a piece of this equipment when there is an alternative option that can deliver the same job for less? All these points here are good guiding questions if you want to get more value for your money.  

If there is a global event that will spur an economic slump to happen, an awful lot of active drill rigs today, and not just in the country but even those abroad, run the risk of slowing down and will sit idle (for an indefinite amount of time, until the global economy picks up again). Fleet managers can decide on their own if they would still retain or keep their old drill rigs and have the necessary fixes or repair works on them. They can also decide to acquire new ones, purchase brand new drill rigs.

If one of the drill rig components needs some fixing work, or something needs to get a replacement soon, the operations manager in your facility should be able to handle those concerns on his own. Accurately identifying engines, valves, and assemblies are crucial to their role in the organization. If you want to know how much you need to shell out to purchase a brand new drill rig, your operations manager should be able to give you 

Latest Technology for Sonic Drill

If you want to breathe a new lease of life to your fleet, acquiring a brand new rig gives you a chance to elevate your efficiency and productivity since they will let you go far deeper when you drill. Those additional extra few meters when you drill into the ground will count a lot.

Without the need to exert so much of a mental effort, it is easy to understand that the performance and output of brand new drill rigs would outweigh those of the old and used rigs. They will make your uptime work even more reliable and dependable since normally they would come with more built-in safety features.  

Acquiring a New Sonic Drill Rig

Even if you don’t have this type of drill rig into your roster yet, don’t make yourself feel compelled to have one. What you can do instead is take into account whatever options are available at hand. 

Evaluate your current drill rig fleet. By this measure, you’d easily identify the right and proper measures you need to take to keep your drill rig fleet up to date. For all you know, doing so might even make your company even more competitive in the already stiff market. 

Did it even occur to your mind if your drilling rigs are utilizing the most recent technology or innovation? Are they at par with the highest safety standards? When trying to look for any equipment for your business, your prime motivation should always be to improve the reliability of your offered products or services. 

If the pointers we indicated above make a good business sense for you, it could be high time that you consider reaching out to an expert so you can know the various available for your requirements, not just for today but even for the coming years ahead.