Marathon Oil Company's Succes with RFID

Marathon Oil Company of Houston, Texas has used RFID tags in its operations. Instead of using traditional mechanical systems, hydraulic pressure and fluid pulses, a downhole tool is set up with an RFID reader and the tool is activated when RFID tags are read along the length of drill pipe. Marathon Oil has recognized various benefits from the use of RFID, the most important initial goals is reducing costs and rig time, Marathon Oil has also estimated that by implementing such an RFID-powered system, they could save at least $17 million in annual costs.  While cost savings are a great achievement, Marathon Oil also pointed out that this solution could result in improvements to operational safety.
The above mentioned facts are so important after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the use of RFID for downhole drilling and many other aspects of natural resource exploration seem to be revolutionary.

Source: http://rfid.thingmagic.com/rfid-blog/?month=10&year=2010

Blowout Preventer #9

During the drilling of areas where are oil, water, or gas, there is a possibility this pressure may escape out through the well.  When this happens, it can blow out.
To control these formations of the pressure, a large underwater control valve called a Blowout Preventer (BOP) is initiated on top of the wellhead.  This is why its very important to have run the two sections of casing and properly cemented them in place. If not for the blow out preventer, oil and gas would escape directly to the sea causing tremendous damage to the environment.  Ensuring the BOPs are properly maintained and tested should be one of the highest priorities of the drilling companies. 

It is crucial to prevent the blow-out not only it damages the drilling rig, but it may cause enormous damages for both the employees and the environment as well. Many oil rig workers have lost their lives to explosions and fires when uncontrolled gases from blow-out. Drilling fluid is twice as heavy as sea water. This is helpful during the drilling, because it’s weight creates enough pressure to keep any pressure in the oil or gas formation from escaping back up through the well.
On the other hand, if the drilling fluid you are drilling with is too heavy, you run the risk of breaking or cracking the well.  When this happens, your drilling fluid begins leaking out into the underground formation.  This is also very bad, because without being able to circulate the mud back up through the marine riser, you will be unable to drill any deeper.
According to the BOP, tremendous problems can be avoided.

Source: http://www.treesfullofmoney.com/?p=1610

Drilling Process#8

The drilling bit cutting through the earth is a little crude. The drill bit is connected to the drill pipe which runs all the way back to the surface of the water to the drill ship. As the bit is rotated in the well bore (the hole that is cut into the ground), high pressure drilling fluids called “mud” is pumped down the center of the drill pipe and out. The drilling fluid has a red colour in the drawing below. As drill gets lower the drilling fluid carries chipped rock pieces (yellow) out of the hole to prevent them from building up on the bottom of the well. Drilling fluid, or “mud” beside clearing out rock bits from around the bit has other important function. It keeps the bit cool as it turn through layer after layer of hard rock formations.  Furthermore, it keeps the bit and the drill pipe lubricated to help keep it from getting stuck in the ground.  The mud helps prevent the well from caving in or taking a kick.

Source: http://www.treesfullofmoney.com/?p=1610

Drilling Process #7

The drilling process actually begins with a spudding which means that drilling oil wells in deep water (>1000′), this involves forcing 300-400 feet of 36″ diameter metal tubing, called casing. The 36″ casing is sunk to the seafloor by “drill pipe”.  Each section of drill pipe is 30-45 feet long and about 6″ in diameter.  The drill pipe is connected end to end and gradually lowered down into the well and back up to the surface as needed.

Each section of drill pipe is called a “joint“, and when two or more “joints” connected and “racked back” in the derrick they are then called a “stand“.

Casing getting deeper and deeper into the ground, some rigs use enormous hammers to pound the casing into the ground to the desired depth. When the 36″ casing is set to the correct depth, the drill pipe is pulled from it and it will be put back to the surface.

 Source: http://www.treesfullofmoney.com/?p=1610

Drilling Process #6

Drilling begins with exploring the oil under the ocean. The survey boat fires sounds waves which reflect off the various layers of the ground underneath the sea bed and echo back to the survey boat.  The survey boat's high tech computers are able to turn these reflected sound waves into an image showing the various features of the earth directly below.

Geologists according to the waves identify oil by looking at these images to see if there are any areas where oil might be present.  Through the recent technology development the survey boats are able to create 3-D images of the ground which helps for the geologists to identify the oil deposits.

Source: http://www.treesfullofmoney.com/?p=1610

RFID against the Theft?!

One of the biggest  and recent problems in Nigerian energy sector is the  high rate of oil thefts. This violence, fights against the multinational companies which have started  their business in the country. Estimates of ultimate recoverable oil reserves in the deepwater are high, as well as the potential for large and giant discoveries. Chevron's massive Agbami Field, for example, which went on stream in July 2009, covers 182 km² and contains recoverable reserves of approximately 900 MMbo.

The first field to go on production in water depths over 3,300 ft was Shell's Bonga Field, in 2005, which was discovered in the mid 1990's. The field, operated by Shell, contains reserves of 6Bboe per day. During the past few years the exploration has been moving into even deeper waters, with recent wells in depths 9,000ft. However, move to offshore did not remove oil operations from the sphere of the thefts, the Bonga complex, was attacked by the Movement of the Emancipation of the Nigerian Delta (MEND. 

Source: http://www.geoexpro.com/country_profile/nigeria/

Nigeria a new target for RFID

Nigeria, in Western Africa is lucky and unlucky at the same time. The country is rich in its natural resources, especially oil and gas, however, it is poor concerning the environmental effects of the drilling and the low profit of the business. Nigeria suffers from the environmental perils of oil extraction. Villagers draw their water directly from the same rivers and streams that become catch basins for oil spills.  Between 1989 and 2000, more than 536,000 barrels of oil were spilled; only 23,000 barrels were recovered. Worse case that the land and river restoration are rare. Furthermore, gas flaring is the cheapest way to eliminate natural gas which is a byproduct of oil extraction.  These flares contribute to climate change and cause of acid rain in the region.

According to the Ango-Dutch oil group, Schell approximately 100,000 barrels of crude oil are being stolen or smuggled from Nigeria every day,counting 5 per cent of national production. The theft of oil in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil-producing country, may have peaked at more barrels. Today’s theft price is estimated at $40 for a barrel which equates to between $300 million and $1.6 billion a year. Nigeria has proven reserves of 36 billion barrels – the seventh highest in the world – but the industry has been wracked by violence, corruption and crime, particularly across the volatile Niger Delta region. To monitor and stop these troubles RFID technology would be an useful tool.

The process of stealing crude oil involves boring holes in the thousands of miles of pipelines that situated in the Delta and inserting valves. To add the above mentioned practice is highly risky that often results in explosions and deaths. The curde oil is also stolen by organised criminals who steal directly from the wellhead. Stolen Nigerian crude is usually exported by barge for refining in other parts of West Africa. There is also evidence that it is shipped as far afield as Brazil and Eastern Europe.

Source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article5776150.ece

Trac ID RFID tad provided by Weatherford Company

The most important thing for the Petrobras is to monitor the rig and the machines during the drilling. Furthermore, the technicians can read the tags with  readers in order to store a record of what is being loaded. The reader captures each tag's unique ID number, and transmits that information to Trac ID's Asset Management System (TAM) software running on Weatherford's back-end server, via a Wi-Fi connection to the Internet or a GPRS connection.

According to the tag's ID number, the TAM software retrieves data related to that pipe and forwards it to the handheld reader so that employees can immediately view details about the pipe and receive an alert if it is due for an inspection or requires maintenance. The typical problems during the drilling for instance the drill can wear away a pipe's exterior, and if the reduction in diameter is severe enough, a pipe must be repaired or replaced.

At the same time the unique and doubted part of the RFID systems is its early stages. 7,500 drill pipes are expected to be tagged by the end of 2010. Weatherford highly believes that providing relevant, technical, inspection and usage data almost immediately will attract more an more clients.

The Trac ID RFID tags attached to the drill pipe are able to read automatically inside oil wells.

Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/7945/2

Advantage of RFID for Petrobras

The benefits of introducing RFID technology in Petrobras is that the newsystem is reliable and user friendly, the technology is available and well-functioned in depth and last, but not least reduces the cost for the oil company. Weatherford is familiar with the RFID technology. The firm has already developed a passive RFID tag for Marathon Oil Corporation to build electronically controlled drilling reamers to be either activated or deactivated. After the activation, the reamer extends its cutters in order to widen a hole being drilled. When that function is required, an RFID tag is dropped down the hole. The tag passes through the internal diameter of the drill stem around which a reader is installed, capturing the ID number encoded to the tag. Based on the tag's specific ID number, the module causes the reamer to extend or retract its cutters. The name of the system involving RFID technology is  RipTide system which has been tested extensively with Marathon Oil at an oil-drilling site in North Dakota.  

Petrobras is eager to introduce RFID in order to quickly identify assets. By tagging the drill pipes with RFID tags and reading them as they are sent to an offshore rig, the company could generate reports regarding the equipment's location, status, temperature and amount of the streaming oil as well. In addition, Weatherford's technicians and maintenance personnel could use the system to quickly identify when any specific pipe was last inspected or maintained, and update the record in the database accessed by handheld RFID readers in order to avoid any non-functionality.
 

The data of the RFID tag is the following. Each pipe is fitted by a 134.5 kHz RFID tag compliant with the ISO18000-2 standard, provided by Trac ID. Measuring 24 millimeters (1 inch) in diameter, Trac ID's drill-pipe tag is designed to be rugged enough to withstand the pressure and heat in an oil well. The tags can then be read using an RFID interrogator built into an SDG Systems Trimble (TDS) Nomad handheld computer. An ID number encoded to each tag is linked to data about the pipe to which it is attached, involving its size and maintenance history.

Petrobras Opts for RFID

Weatherford International, Inc. a global provider of products and services for oil and natural gas wells, is introducing the RFID to track its drill pipes which are used at offshore oil rigs owned by global energy company Petrobras, headquartered in Brazil. The system is based on the Trac ID System, a Norwegian provider of RFID solutions. Weatherford provides thousands of pieces of equipment leased to companies throughout the world, and also offers inspection services and maintenance for those assets as they are used on customers' work sites.

Weatherford uses enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to track its equipment, manage data regarding all equipment and numbers marked on the pipes themselves. However,in case of contracting with Petrobras for an offshore drilling project, projected to begin in late 2010, Petrobras, the drill company required an RFID-based system to track each item used at its offshore sites. By utilizing RFID technology to track its own product, the contractor could better assure Petrobras that the proper equipment was on the platform, and that it could be located easily for the maintenance purposes. The RFID system offers an automated method for tracking when each piece of equipment is maintained and inspected, in addition to the amount of wear resulting from heavy use.

Petrobras, Brazil's leading energy company, off-shore drilling company, has several oil and gas field in the Cmapo basin. In 2006 it has total proved reserves of 15 billion barrels and in 2007 the company had market capitalization of more than $200 billion.



Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/7945
http://www.aimms.com/references/case-studies/petrobras-movigas

The Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon

Oil spill of the Deepwater Horizon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE-1G_476nA&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE-1G_476nA&feature=related


 A supercomputer simulation conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in conjunction with the Los Alamos National Laboratory indicates that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to move up the East Coast. They claimed that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could extend along thousands of miles of the Atlantic coast and open ocean in 2010 summer. The models indicate that the pollution could travel 100 miles a day.

 The records of NASA after 35 days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thKLPSkEId0&feature=player_embedded

British Petrol's Oil Rig Exploded in the Gulf of Mexico

Oil Rig Dangers since 2001:

1. 59 Fatalities
2. 1349 Injuries
3. 853 Fires

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVcEdvY4UdE&feature=related

April 22 2010 oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.


British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon (“Horus Rising”) Oil Rig was a genuine accident in April 2010. The cause and the roots of the accident is still questionable, however, the damage was enormous.Toxic chemicals have been dropped in the millions of pounds further polluting the Gulf, rather than employ tested, safe, biological solutions. Far beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, deeper than divers can go, there is still oil from the busted BP on the sea's muddy and mysterious bottom. Almost two inches thick oil was fund about mile beneath the surface in September 2010.
The well was capped on July 15 after some 200 million gallons flowed into the Gulf, there have been signs of resilience on the surface and the shore. Sheens have disappeared, while some marshlands have shoots of green. Moreover, the amount of animal death was huge. The biggest problem is that the oil did not disappeared, it sunk. On the other hand, lot of scientists have argued that much oil seeps naturally into the Gulf each year that it's hard to argue that the BP spill will make a significant difference.
ThesScientists also say the oil may be sinking because it was broken up into tiny droplets by dispersant, making the oil so small that it wasn't able  to rise. Real problem with oil at the sea floor is that it will take longer to disappear because of cold temperatures in the deep. 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100913/ap_on_sc/us_sci_gulf_oil_spill_sea_floor

RFID in the Business and its Positive Effect

RFID system is more and more popular in each segment of the business. Health care, supply chain management, logistics, manufacturing, packaging, pharmacy, retail, defense and aerospace use the RFID in order to be more effective and to be transparent. The RFID involves not only cost and time efficiency, but the companies can be prepare for the changes and also avoid the problems which could have occurred during the operations.

The RFID technology in the energy sector is the very new application which has been introduced recently. The equipment can be easily monitored and any non-functionality can be avoided. To realize any problem in advance is crucial, especially in the case of damage in the pipelines and atom reactors. Any problems occurred in these machines, it would be very harmful for the population and the environment as well. Furthermore, the radioactive rays from the reactors cause permanent damage such as the Cernobil in 1986. The oil spots on the oceans are also harms which do not disappear within the short-term. For instance, the British Petrol have had serious problems recently when its oil rig exploded and oil spill in to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Merrick software helps to drillers locate the specific ID numbers on the pieces they will be using. They then use a handled reader to identify the necessary pipes and joints by capturing their tag ID numbers. Three RFID tags are positioned on each pipe and are encoded with the same ID number. The data such as the locations and time of the usage is stored on a local server. The information about the pipes are always available on the server.

When the tag is read, a pipe section or joint is connected with other pieces in a string that is then drilled into the ground. During the operation of the drill equipment, the drilling rig sensor system tracks the torque, axial tension, and down hole pressure and temperature. That data is then stored in the server using Merrick software to link it with the specific pieces of equipment involved. Companies such as Trailblazer can then access that data before reusing a pipe to know what kinds of conditions it has been exposed to in the past.

There is an interest from the drilling industry in adding RFID tags to torque wrenches in order to track the amount of torque on bolts used to hold drilling equipment in place. Accidents can occur on oil rigs and at drilling operations when one or a series of bolts breaks because of errors in torque.
Currently the RFID works fine as it was testing various time.

Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/4095/2

Drilling Operation

Drilling operations are very expensive. String of oil pipes cost $1 million or more. The problem is that the pipes can remain in good position for short period, because the oil wells screws them easily with turns and twist. These can damage and weaken the pipes. In the hole of the oil drill machine temperature is varied from 400 degree Farenheit to - 320 Farenheit and the pressure can be more than 20,000 pounds per inch square. If one piece of drill machine broke, it would be very expensive to repair it, because the entire string should be replaced.

The Merrick system design the drill string with the help of computer.The string consists of various size of drills and joints. The tags is important not only for tracking the status of pipes and drillers, but determine the geological position of the both equipments and record the hole angle of drillers.

Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/4095/2

Tag Withstanding Any Environment

The tags are designed to withstand exposure to heat and other physical forces generated by the drilling process and be readable through heavy coatings of mud.

Currently the Merrick RFID rugged tags are the most available for drilling operations. These tags usually can operate under the exposure 360 degree Farenheit compare to other tags which can not survive such a high temperature for long period. Merrick tags are very resistant against of the high temperature and pressure.

Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/4095/2

Merrick System and the Drills

Embedded RFID tags are really useful for oil companies as they have ability to withstand the high and low temperatures as well as the adherence to the drill pipes as they are exposed to the rotation, heat, various chemicals and oil. In 2008 some energy companies started to use the RFID tag such as Trailblazer Drilling Corp., division of Savannah Energy Services, and being piloted by other unnamed companies.

More and more oil companies, drilling-equipment providers are using RFID tags to track the multiple pipes that are joining together. However, many tag failed to perform well after the exposure to heat generated or the unreadable through the heavy coatings of mud. The Merrick tags, part of th Merrick system and hardware, are put there where are less likely to be damaged. In 2005 Merrick System seemed to be creative in developing RFID tags in the oil sector. They developed a RFID tag with 125 kHz frequency chip which provide short range of read.

The RFID is very helpful for the oil companies as they follow the status, the position and the age of the drills.


Source: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/4095