UK patent secured for Drill Pipe Swivel
Deep Casing Tools, an oil and gas technology development firm, received a patent in the UK for its Drill Pipe Swivel (DPS), a mechanism that it says can help operators overcome extended-reach drilling (ERD) challenges by allowing them to deploy completions into longer and more complex well trajectories.
The DPS can be run on any string where potential problems exist in reaching target depth because of frictional issues, typically in long, horizontal ERD. It enables the rotation of the drill pipe above the liner in an ERD well, reducing drag, redistributing friction and mitigating helical buckling of the work string. It also increases the available weight to push completions and liners to the target depth in ERD wells, while ensuring safety and cost efficiency.
The DPS can be instantly locked and prevented from swiveling via mechanical manipulation of the drill string. Once locked, the tool can be rotated to the right or left, in compression or in tension, reducing the need for heavyweight drill pipe collars.
“We are delighted to have been granted a UK patent for this transformational technology,” said David Stephenson, CEO of Deep Casing Tools. He noted that patents are still pending in the US, Norway, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
