Drilling clean-up technologies showcased at recent expo

MI-Swaco Environmental Solutions' latest cleaning technologies for drilling operations were on display on 24 April at the company's Environmental Solution Expo 2008. Nearly 400 attendees from various operating companies were expected for the showcase event, which was held in the outside parking area of the company's corporate headquarters in Houston.

MI-Swaco product specialists and field engineers were on hand to answer questions about the displayed technologies, which included degassers, drill cuttings cleaners and dryers, injection pumps, and choke manifolds. Some of the newer technologies showcased at the event included:

AUTOCHOKE - Designed for managed-pressure and underbalanced drilling operations, the AUTOCHOKE is the only pressure-balanced choke on the market. The choke automatically adjusts fluid flow to regulate well, casing, and drill-pipe pressures up to 15,000 psi (1,034 bar). The choke can also be used for controlling kicks and killing wells, and makes transition operations such as mud-pump startup and shutdown or making and breaking connections easier to control.

CD-600 centrifuge - Specifically engineered for high-volume drilling, the CD-600 centrifuge can process drilling muds at a rate of 90 m³/hr. The centrifuge reportedly experiences less solids packoff, produces cleaner effluents, requires fewer operating personnel, and features automatic adjustment for changing drilling conditions.

CLEANCUT system - The CLEANCUT system provides a holistic method for containing, handling, storing, and transporting drill cuttings within a totally enclosed and protected environment for both onshore and offshore drilling projects. A cuttings blower conveys cuttings from a shaker or centrifuge system into the CLEANCUT's ISO-Pump units, which are combination storage vessel and conveying devices built within standard 20-ft (6.1 m) ISO container dimensions. These ISO-Pumps replace the many smaller cuttings containers that would typically be required, thus reducing the footprint on a platform and creating a much safer transportation option than conventional skip-and-ship cuttings transport (cuttings are pumped out of the ISO-Pump instead of lifting and moving the unit from the platform to a vessel).

MEERKAT PT shale shaker - The dual-motion MEERKAT PT shaker processes drill cuttings for recovery of premium drilling fluids while also producing cuttings that require less treatment for disposal. The units can be customized in many configurations and sizes to meet tight space requirements and high-performance criteria. In addition, the shaker can operate in either a linear motion mode for fast conveyance and heavy loading, or a balanced elliptical motion mode for maximum retention time and drier cuttings. An operator can switch between these modes with the flip of a switch without stopping the shaker.

Attendees were also treated to guided tours of MI-Swaco's new training center, which includes an equipment lab and training bay, classrooms, and a fluids-training lab.

To learn more about MI-Swaco Environmental Solutions technologies, visit www.miswaco.com, or speak with product specialists at MI-Swaco's booth #4541 at the 2008 Offshore Technology Conference, 5-8 May 2008 in Houston, Texas.

Ted Moon is the Technology Editor of JPT Online. He brings information on emerging technologies, R&D successes, new field applications, updates from SPE papers about recent innovations, and more. If you have a question or suggestion for future article topics, email Ted at teched@spe.org.