Reelwell AS
Oct 5, 2020
Reliable, powered and wired drill pipe system witnessed by participating operators.
STAVANGER, Norway - Reelwell AS is pleased to announce the successful full-scale demonstration of its DualLink powered and wired drill pipe.
The system demonstration concludes a Norwegian joint industry project (JIP) and commercializes the technology. The demonstration was performed during September at the NORCE Ullrigg testing rig. The drill string, consisting of 96 joints / 3058ft of DualLink pipe, performed without failure for over 80hours operating with in hole, drilling granite down to 4213ft. The test demonstrated:
high speed bi-directional telemetry at >61,000bps
power transmission of up to 500W from surface to the battery-less BHA downhole
100% uptime reliability of telemetry and power transmission
DualLink was used to power and communicate with downhole tools provided by a major service company, along with Reelwell’s along-string measurement and high speed MWD replacement tools. JIP and customer participants witnessed the tests both in person and by remote live-streaming globally. The demonstration included pipe handling, racking, running in hole and realtime transmission of high-speed drilling mechanics, surveying and logging data via DualLink whilst drilling and tripping. Industry studies estimate the use of wired pipe along with automation at the rigsite will lead to 15% efficiency and environmental improvements and 20% increased production through the increased visibility of downhole conditions and reservoir characteristics. “We are extremely pleased with the results from the DualLink demonstration”, said Ian Silvester, CEO of Reelwell’s USA division. "The reliability, high speed telemetry and power of DualLink finally connects downhole and surface, enabling the next generation of drilling tool development: improving drilling efficiency and well placement. It marks the beginning of the end for the 40yr old legacy MWD mud-pulse technology currently in use and opens the door to enhanced drilling automation driven by continuous high speed downhole measurements powered from surface.” The DualLink production will now continue by manufacturing full length strings for both US Land and North Sea offshore applications for key clients who are pre-ordering initial drill strings. “This is a major breakthrough in the digital drilling technology transformation” said Jørgen Peter Rasmussen, Chairman of Reelwell AS. “The focus on a reliable solution for powered and wired pipe has been a significant challenge for the drilling industry, which our engineers now have solved. I congratulate them. We also would like to thank our partners in the DualLink demo. JIP: Equinor, Aker BP, DNO Norge, The Research Council of Norway, Nabors Industries, DP-Master, and Edge Energy for their valuable contribution.” Customer & Partner Quotes: Equinor: “Equinor congratulates Reelwell with a successful drilling demo on Ullrigg.” Aker BP: “Aker BP congratulates Reelwell and our development project partners Equinor, DNO, DP-Master, Nabors, Edge Energy and the Research Council of Norway on a successful completed drilling test of the DualLink powered pipe system at the Ullrigg test site. We look forward to participate in bringing this revolutionizing drilling system to market. We believe that high quality and affordable powered drill string services will transform the drilling industry imposing much needed innovation to downhole tools and electronics, increasing capabilities and efficiencies in the years to come.” Nabors: “Nabors is excited with this milestone by Reelwell and are proud to have played an important role in the development of this innovative technology. We believe DualLink will become an important element in the evolution of integrated drilling solutions. It will reduce overall well-construction costs and will provide enhancements to our automated drilling apps to create smoother and more accurate wellbore trajectories ultimately leading to increased production for our customers.” DNO Norge AS: “DNO congratulates Reelwell with a successful drilling demo and test of DualLink at Ullrigg.” DP-Master: “DP-Master congratulates Reelwell on the successful completion of the test well using DualLink powered drill pipe with real time high speed data. DP-Master Engineering and Manufacturing teams are proud to have been involved in this project. DualLink will be a game-changer as far as automation of the drilling process and bring much needed efficiencies.” Click here to download the case study.