Cleverly Stowed: Automation in Confined Space for Deep Drill Operations

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Another benefit is that the casings are part of Bauer Deep Drilling's rigs. "The automatic rod handling feature is drawing attention in the market. Many were perhaps surprised that the pipe handling works so well. A lot of customers liked the fact that the entire rig, including the pipes, is able to "walk," comments Both. It's a feature that is almost reminiscent of a science fiction movie: using four large hydraulic feet, the equipment weighing approximately 1,000 tons can cover up to 30 meters (almost 100 feet) an hour in 75–cm (30–inch) steps.

Automation is Key to Safety in Oil Drilling

The high level of automation allows the company to improve safety and save on–site personnel: Fewer employees in hazardous areas also mean a lower risk of injuries. This is an important factor, as the entire rig operation has to be halted if someone is injured on the premise. It may take half a day, or an entire day, until all the whys and hows have been established — And a shutdown can easily amount to 25,000 Euros a day.

Until recently, the cabins for operating the rig were purchased from a competitor, ready–to–install. "We then decided that we would make them ourselves in the future. Of course, we could have produced them exactly the same," Schirmel states. In the predecessors, a standard control unit was installed in a flameproof enclosure. The drawback of this is that, when the cover has to be opened in the event of a malfunction, explosion protection is no longer ensured and the rig must be completely shut down. In contrast, the new system, provided by Antares and certified according to the latest ATEX and IECEx directives, can be installed directly in the Ex area in zones 1 + 2 or zones 21 + 22.

1:0 for Antares

Due to its large power reserves, the new process control offers efficient and compact I/O configurations. Up to 32 multi–channel modules can be supplied via a single rail control unit (RCU), resulting in a very high number of input/output channels. The RCU is the central unit of the system, featuring host communication, Ethernet switch, power management and I/O data management. An SD memory card provides additional back-up of the configuration data.

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