Top drive
A top drive is a mechanical device on a drilling rig that provides clockwise torque to the drill string to drill a
borehole. It is an alternative to the rotary table and kelly drive. It is located at the swivel's place below the
traveling block and moves vertically up and down the derrick.
The top drive allows the drilling rig to drill the longer section of a stand of drill pipe in one operation. A rotary
table type rig can only drill 30-foot (9.1 m) (single drill pipe) sections of drill pipe whereas a top drive can drill
60–90-foot (18–27 m) stands (double and triple drill pipe respectively, a triple being three joints of drillpipe
screwed together), depending on the drilling rig size. Handling longer sections of drill pipe enables a drilling
rig to make greater daily progress because up to 90-foot (27 m) can be drilled at a time, thus requiring fewer
"connections" to add another 30-foot (9.1 m) of drill pipe. Another advantage of top drive systems is time
efficiency. When the bit progresses under a kelly drive, the entire string must be withdrawn from the well bore
for the length of the kelly in order to add one more length of drill pipe. With a top drive, the draw works only
has to pick up a new stand from the rack and make up two joints. Making fewer and quicker connections
reduces the risk of a stuck string from annulus clogging while drilling fluid is not being pumped.
Several different kinds of top drives exist, and are usually classified based on the "Safe Working Load" (SWL)
of the equipment and the size and type of motor used to rotate the drillpipe. For offshore and heavy duty use, a
1000 short ton unit would be used, whereas a smaller land rig may only require a 500 short ton device. Various
sizes of hydraulic motors, or AC or DC electric motors, are available.
Standards
API 8A: Specification for Drilling and Production Hoisting Equipment
API 8B: Recommended Practice for Procedures for Inspections, Maintenance, Repair, and Remanufacture of
Hoisting Equipment
API 8C: Specification for Drilling and Production Hoisting Equipment
ISO 13535: Recommended Practice for Procedures for Inspections, Maintenance, Repair, and Remanufacture
of Hoisting Equipment
References
Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary (http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Display.cfm?Term=topdriv
e)
Tesco Top Drives (http://www.tescocorp.com/ProductSales/TopDrives/default.aspx)
Canrig Drilling Technology (http://www.canrigdrillingtechnology.com/top-drives.php)
LeTourneau Technologies (now Cameron) (http://cameron.slb.com/products-and-services/drillin
g/drilling-equipment/top-drives)
National Oilwell Varco (https://www.nov.com/products/top-drive-systems)
Warrior Rig (http://www.warriorrig.com)
GDS International (http://www.globaldrillingsupport.com)
External links
Companies providing top drives:
Atlas Copco (https://www.atlascopco.com/content/dam/atlas-copco/mining-and-rock-excavation
-technique/drilling-solutions/documents/Deep%20Hole%20Drilling.pdf)
BenTec (https://www.bentec.com/equipment/mechanical-drilling-rig-equipment/top-drives/top-dr
ives.html)
Cakra Petrokindo Utama (http://www.cakrapetrokindo.com/our_service.php?service=1)
Cameron (https://www.products.slb.com/rig-equipment/hoisting-rotating-equipment/top-drives)
Canrig (https://www.nabors.com/equipment/automated-surface-equipment/top-drives)
DrillMec (http://www.drillmec.com/en/p/top-drives/)
Global Drilling Support (http://www.globaldrillingsupport.com/)
Herrenknecht Vertical Gmbh (https://www.herrenknecht-vertical.com/fileadmin/herrenknecht-ver
tical/06_Media_Downloads/01_Data_Sheets/02_Components/HK2686_DB_HVG_Top_drives
_hydr_1804.pdf)
MHWirth (https://mhwirth.com/our-products/drilling-make-and-break-2/top-drives-2/)
National Oilwell Varco (https://www.nov.com/products/top-drive-systems)
NorDrill (https://nordrill.no/)
Warrior (http://www.warriorrig.com/products/top-drives/hydraulic-top-drive)
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This page was last edited on 29 May 2020, at 19:55 (UTC).
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