Page 563 - Air and Gas Drilling Manual

Chapter
Eleven

Specialized Drilling Equipment

There are specialized surface and downhole equipment that either offer air and
gas drilling operations unique operational advantages, or are specialized tools strictly
for use in air and gas drilling operations. Some of this equipment is used only for
shallow drilling (approximately less than 3,000 ft of vertical depth). However, most
of the equipment discussed below can be used for a variety of depths and drilling
objectives (e.g., monitoring wells, deep water wells, geothermal wells, or
underbalanced oil and natural gas resource recovery wells).
11.1 Surface Equipment
Over the past three decades a number of rotary drilling surface equipment
innovations have been introduced. These innovations have been directed at variety
of applications from providing an increased capability to drill through more difficult,
shallow, highly fractured, incompetent rock formations to enhancing the capability
to drill long horizontal boreholes at a variety of depths. Such innovations have
resulted in new types of rotary drilling rigs, new auxiliary rotary drilling equipment
for convention drill rigs, and unique hoisting equipment that allows safe
underbalance drilling operations.

11.1.1 Specialized Drilling Rigs
There are a variety of rotary drilling rigs on the market today. These rigs come
in a variety of mechanical capabilities and sizes which in turn translates to a variety
of vertical (and/or directional) capabilities. The key technology that has stimulated

11-1
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