Page 377 - Air and Gas Drilling Manual

8-60 Air and Gas Drilling Manual
Using the data in Figure 8-11 and similar calculations as those given above, the
diesel fuel consumption rate as a function of drilling time (or drilling depth) can be
obtained. Figure 8-12 shows the diesel fuel consumption rate as a function of
drilling time (or drilling depth) for each of the compressor units required for this
drilling operation. The approximate total diesel fuel needed for each compressor unit
is obtained by the integration of the area under the curve in Figure 8-12. This is
approximately 1,793 gallons. It is standard practice to assume a 20 percent
additional volume of fuel for blowing the hole between connections and other
compressor operations on the drill rig. Therefore, the approximate diesel fuel needed
for each compressor unit is 2,152 gallons. Therefore, the total diesel fuel needed at
the drilling location for compressor operations is approximately 4,304 gallons.
Illustrative Examples 8.4 demonstrates the calculation procedures (step Nos. 1
to 10 given in Section 8.1) used to plan a typical deep oil or natural gas well
drilling operation.

Figure 8-12: Fuel consumption rate as a function of drilling time for the combined
primary and booster compressor unit used in Illustrative Example 8.4 (q g = 3,396 acfm).