Rig Superintendent and Assistant Rig Superintendent

The rig superintendent (rig manager or toolpusher) oversees the drilling crews that work on the rig floor, supervises drilling operations, and coordinates operating company and contractor affairs) On land rigs, the rig superintendent is usually headquartered in a mobile home or a portable build­ing at the rig site and is on call at all times. Offshore, the rig superintendent has an office and sleeping quarters on the rig, and is also on call at all times. Because offshore drilling and large land drilling operations can be very critical, the contrac­tor may hire an assistant rig superintendent. The assistant rig superintendent often relieves the superintendent during night­time hours and is thus sometimes nicknamed the "night toolpusher."

A PRIMER OF OILWELL DRILLING

Driller and Assistant Driller

The rig superintendent supervises the driller, who, in turn, supervises the derrickman arfd the rotary helpers From a control console or an operating cabin on the rig floor, the driller manipulates the controls that keep the drilling opera­tion under way (fig. 43). This person is directly responsible for drilling the hole?Most offshore rigs and large land rigs, especially those working outside the U.S., also have an assis­tant driller. The assistant driller aids the driller on the rig floor and helps the driller supervise the derrickman and the rotary helpers.

Derrickman

A few of the latest rigs feature automated pipe-handling equipment that takes over the duties of the derrickman Мost rigs, however, require a derrickman when crew members run drill pipe into the hole (when they trip in), or when they pull pipe out of the hole (when they trip out). The derrickman handles the upper end of the pipe from the monkeyboard (fig. 44). The monkeyboard is a small platform in the mast or derrick on which the derrickman stands to handle the upper end of the pipe. The contractor mounts the monkeyboard in the mast or derrick at a height ranging from about 50 to 110 feet (15 to 34 metres), depending on the length of the joints of pipe crew members pull from the hole. The derrickman uses special safety equipment to prevent falls.

In addition, the derrickman has an escape device, a Geronimo, or a Tinkerbellline, so that he or she can quickly exit the monkeyboard in an emergency. (Geronimo was a Chiricahua Apache who eluded the Army for many years in the American southwest in the late 1800s. For some reason, World War II paratroopers sometimes yelled his name when they jumped out of airplanes. Tinkerbell is a fictitious flying character from the children's novel Peter Pan.) In any case, if the derrickman has to get out of the derrick or mast quickly, he or she grasps a handle on the Geronimo and rides it down on a special cable, or line, to the ground. The derrickman controls the rate of descent by moving the handle to increase or decrease braking action on the line.

When the bit is drilling and the pipe is in the hole, the derrickman, using a built-in ladder in the derrick or mast for normal descent, climbs down from the monkeyboard and works at ground level. When not in the derrick or mast, derrickmen monitor the condition of the drilling mud (fig. 45). They make sure it meets the specifications for drilling a particu­lar part of the hole.

Rotary Helpers (Floorhands)

Depending on the size of the rig, its equipment, and other factors, a contractor usually hires two or three rotary helpers or floorhands, for each work shift. On small rigs drilling shallow wells, for example, two rotary helpers on a shift can safely and efficiently perform the required duties.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1311