Micro Motion Oil and Gas Drilling Solution Brief Oilfield Services Manuals & Guides

Micro Motion® Measurement Solutions for Oilfield Services

DRILLING

“Do my drillers have the current, accurate mud returns data they
need to quickly identify and react to well control events?”

How can you operate more efficiently with improved visibility on well

Collecting density and

flow rate data in real-time is

helping to lower drilling costs

by reducing nonproductive time

(NPT) and identifying leading

indicators to potential

operational problems, which

contributes to real-time

drilling optimization.

Source: Source: Jason Norman,
independent consultant for Apache
Corp, “Coriolis sensors open lines
for to real-time data”,www.drill­ingcontractor.org ,Sept 2011

control events?

The ability to efficiently manage your drilling operations is critical to your well’s economic
success; however, the need to operate safely, especially through critical sections of the well, can
slow down your operations for repeated flow checks. With deepwater drilling pushing new
frontiers of temperature and pressure, drilling costs (and risks) are greater than ever. Onshore­intensive drilling programs demand efficiency to remain economic all the while experienced
personnel is increasingly difficult to find and retain.

Lack of accurate, timely information concerning volume loss or influxes in the wellbore slows down
your operation and hampers the drilling crew’s ability to efficiently react to changing wellbore
conditions. Because mud volume calculations are usually handled manually, you have an inherent
lack of reliability in your operations that impact both your bottomline and your confidence in safe
operations.

Drilling managers we talk to tell us about challenges like these:

What if...

• You could significantly

increase the safety and
reliability of drilling,

tripping and cementing of
well operations, and reduce
time spent flow-checking?

• You could quickly and
easily improve drilling

efficiency and reduce cost

by maintaining designed
hydrostatic at the drill bit
and reducing drilling fluid
losses?

• You could verify data
integrity with advanced
diagnostic information and
receive alerts to changes in
meter performance without
taking the unit offline?

“Current methods of measuring drilling mud returns are unreliable.”

Flapper and flow paddle measurements of mud flow and pit volume are notoriously inaccurate,

particularly when mud density and viscosity is changing. Level measurements can be deceiving on

floaters or drillships thanks to high seas or shifting loads on the deck. When drilling a critical section,

it can be difficult to identify changes in volume-in versus volume-out and respond in a timely manner,

resulting in frequent flow checks. This uncertainty in measurement can slow down your operations

and waste critical minutes at the onset of a well control event.

“I’m always under pressure to improve drilling efficiency and reduce NPT.”

Manual processes, such as tracking volume-in versus volume-out, introduce inconsistencies, errors,

and delays into your operations. They also make you overly-dependent on your employees. In the

current environment, employee turnover is high, and training new employees to compensate for

attrition can be a difficult, lengthy process.

“Lack of visibility to continuous drilling returns data hampers efforts to provide
real-time support to my drilling operations.”

Providing remote technical decision-making support is critical as the industry is drilling deeper, hotter

and at higher pressures than ever. Poor or inadequate data on drilling mud density and flow in versus out

can blind your technical support, halting or interrupting your drilling operations.

Micro Motion® Measurement Solutions for Oilfield Services

DRILLING

Working with Emerson will help you overcome
challenges related to drilling mud measurement
during your drilling and cementing operations.
Our products and solutions can help you reduce
measurement uncertainty and assist in automation
of your processes so you can improve your early
kick and lost circulation detection—increasing
the efficiency of your operations. All of this will
help you make informed decisions on future drilling
plans, deliver well programs on time, and maintain
a safe, environmentally sound drilling operation.

“Coriolis meters provide

improved kick detection

capability compared

with conventional

overbalanced drilling”

HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR MEASUREMENTS

You can greatly reduce measurement uncertainty when you work with Emerson. Our meters
allow you to continuously take both density and flow rate measurements of drilling mud returns
regardless of mud type. You will have the ability to accurately detect small volume changes
down-hole, immediately, on the surface. This allows any kick or loss to be handled quickly and
safely, minimizing downtime due to a larger event, which saves overall cost to drill the well.
You’ll also have access to technology and diagnostics that will give you accurate assessments of
your meters’ performance, so you can be sure you have accurate measurements to assess and adjust
drilling operations.

OVERCOME EQUIPMENT LIMITATIONS

You’ll overcome limitations associated with conventional and traditional equipment. Micro Motion
Coriolis meters accommodate changes in mud rheology and density without the need to recalibrate
or estimate fluid velocity profiles while maintaining consistent repeatable readings, independent
from floating rig heaving or mud pit transfers. Our meters offer the broadest and most accurate
operating range of any metering technology available for drilling mud. Free yourself from the
operating restrictions and excessive maintenance of traditional metering and gain the ability to
continually assess the health of your meters and processes, while reducing uncertainty in your
drilling. Coriolis meters require no maintenance or replacement and Smart Meter Verification allows
you to receive alerts to changes in meter performance without taking the unit offline.

Source: B. Patel, “The Application
of Advanced Gas Extraction and
Analysis System Complements Early
Kick Detection and Control
Capabilities of Managed Pressure
Drilling System with Added HSE
Value”, SPE156908, 2012

www.MicroMotion.com/Oil-and-Gas

MC-001608 REV A / Printed in USA / 1K / 10-12

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