Alexander Nosikov – 11.08.
2021
MWD for DDx Job Checklist
Arriving to the Rig, powering up the Cabin:
1. Inspect the cabin for damage, report if any, confirm the placement. Talk to rig electrician for
supplied voltage and grounding, check power source location vs power cable length. Use impact-
resistant safety gloves. Check cabin location vs deck testing spot (if cable length is enough). Place
blower motor/air intake for pressurization into Zone-2. Assess escape routes from the cabin,
ensure no blockage of emergency door, it should be pointing away from the Rig. Find 100 psi air
supply if cabin has pneumatic fire dampers. Turn off all breakers/equipment inside cabin.
2. Purge the Cabin: Bypass switch to 0, PLC Power to 1, Reset-Start to Start! Emergency Stop switch
should be pulled out. Started purge system: LEDs on the Panel: steady yellow for Airflow, steady
green for Fan Run, steady yellow for Air pressure (if not – check why cabin is leaking pressure –
doors, holes, emergency exit door not closed tightly) 0.3-0.4 in of water, 50-65 Pascals after purge,
during purge – a lot higher. Red slow flashing for Purging, when Purged – steady red.
3. When Red Purge LED is steady – press Power On button, hear a click, then power up
distribution/breaker panel, lights, ACs. Give ACs some time to condition cabin air.
Surface System/Equipment:
1. Check if all equipment is there, inspect/report/request replacement for anything damaged.
2. Assess surface system requirements: number of sensors, their placement, how many cables
required, if using SARA2 – location of Junction boxes, optimal placement of JB – safe area,
horizontal, connectors facing down to avoid cable overbending.
3. Function-test all required components: Connect everything to the SARA2, power up SARA2, start
SARA2CDA, SARA2Configurator, Message Server. On Sensor Tab: SPP ~ 2.0V at atmospheric
pressure, test with thumb pressing membrane, should change for 0.1-0.2V. Hook load: 1.7-1.9V
with no load, use some stick or pipe to put inside & tighten to see V increasing. Depth Encoder: 2
full revolutions should give 100 counts, then go back to exactly same point to get to original counts
values. Pump Stroke Counter: wave some metal in front of the sensing plane, counts should
increase.
4. Talk to Rig mechanic for Depth Encoder rig up, Pressure sensor by rig crew, hook load by ourselves.
Label the cables. Run cables neatly, avoid tripping hazards, lay cables in trays and not close to
power lines.
1 of 4
Alexander Nosikov – 11.08.2021
5. Calibrate sensors: Pressure sensors are only configured, not calibrated: Pressure rating (on the
sensor body, if 2 numbers there – take lower one), connect SPP closer to the pump to J1:1(SARA2)
or lower number channel (SOLUS), J1:2 – closer to the Gooseneck. Optimal placement distance 6-
29 m, no pulsation dampeners, mud pumps, air pockets, flexible hoses between transducers.
Hook load calibration: after RIH, 2-point calibration – weight in slips (top drive only), press Take
button, ask Driller for weight from his weight indicator, enter weight (low), 2nd point when out of
slips with full drill string weight, press Take, enter 2nd weight (high).
6. Depth Encoder calibration: use measuring tape, attach zero point to btm of saver sub, measure
to the Rigfloor, put Min, Max and all draw-works layer changes points. When entered all the
points, ROE presses Apply, Send to SARA2, and saves .pref configuration file. After calibration –
lower down with measuring tape attached to some random point and re-check tape vs depth
tracking.
Tool Communication System:
Check if Comms and power cables have enough length to reach to deck/rigfloor.
Test TCS: clean all connections with contact cleaner, connect everything except connecting to the
Tool. BOB connections: Ethernet to Separate card Ethernet on the PC, Serial (RS-232) to Blue Dongle
USB Adaptor, then to USB port of PC, Pulse Decode cable to back of SARA2. Don’t forget BOB Power.
TCS test: switch on TCS power, observe 0V, 0A. Interface switch to IO1039, Tool Power switch On,
observe 33V, 0A, if not 0A – check the Tool cable, try another one. Turn off both power.
Connecting to the Tool:
Connect subs with CommBlocks and phono cables. Clean connections and tool OD where the
CommBlocks will go to, adjust strap and pin height to touch the M30 ring, check tool resistance: set
multimeter to Ohms, put one probe to M30 ring, another to Tool body, also can check 2 thicker pins
in the dump port, they should read same resistance. For OTK/AziTrak it would be 25-30kOhms, or few
tens of kOhms for other tools (except 1-25 MOhm for LTK, 100 kOhms for SoundTrak). Connect subs,
connect Tool cable to OnTrak dump port, power up the tools.
Observe TCS meters: 33V, for BCPM-OTK-ATK: 0.15A+0.4A+0.5A = 1.1A when not pulsing, when
pulsing ~2A. If ROE asks to recycle the Power – hold Reset button on BOB for 10 secs, then release.
2 of 4
Alexander Nosikov – 11.08.2021
Dump port hatch covers:
To identify dump port: look for cut-outs by the hatch cover, OTK 1.1 – location of dump port is bottom
of the OTK. For OTKII/AziTrak – dump port is in the middle of the tool above Resistivity antennae.
Bolts torque: small rectangular hatch cover – 10 N-m, screw 4 bolts with fingers, then toque up with
torque-wrench in cross-pattern, one click. Oval shape hatch cover – 50 N-m, 2 bolts. When POOH –
tie rags above port to avoid water dripping into the port.
For MPR verification:
Lift the tool to 2 meters from lower antenna above rigfloor, as far as possible from rig steel. For
OTKII/AziTrak – pull tool cable away from antennae. Keep TCS box away from heat & close the cover.
T2 Connections:
Supervise operation. Hold toolbox meeting: discuss tool handling – areas of handling, T2 proprietary
connections – T2 lifting subs & caps to be used, take extra care when handling M30 connections, keep
T2 thread protectors not to be used with anything else, take care when attaching lifting sub to the
tools. When using chain-tongs – ensure it does not fall onto modular ring on the shoulder.
Prepare T2 connection: wipe the old CF-33 grease from the connection, spray with contact cleaner.
Inspect shoulder for any damage, inspect O-ring, axial seal ring, stop ring. For replacement – check
new one for manufacturing defects. Grease the new ring with DC-111 or CF-33, put back on.
Painting CF-33: Box - light coat on threads, shoulder without white spots, leave the top above the
thread clean from grease. Use wiper of appropriate size (engraved on wiper) to clean the ring. For Pin
– cover fully with light coat and wipe the M30 ring.
Making up: use stabbing guide – lock it few mm above the surface of the shoulder to avoid smudging
CF-33. When lowering upper sub – do it slowly, no fingers close to the tool shoulders. Guide the pin
into the stabbing guide and stop before it lands onto it. Carefully remove stabbing guide (backup). Tie
rags above the pin shoulder to protect from dirt/rust/water. Start making up with chain tongs, make
sure no gap is left between shoulders. Make up to the required torque with rig tongs, no iron
roughneck. Torque to standard 14 kNm for 4 ¾”, 40 kNm for 6 ¾”, 90 kNm for 9 ½”, if GaugePro Echo
is in the BHA, all T2 connections below it to be torque up with 15% extra torque.
3 of 4
Alexander Nosikov – 11.08.2021
ABPA Checks:
Placement of ABPA, inlet and outlet (no interruptions) part should be confirmed with driller.
Components of ABPA should be complete. 1502 and chiksan line should be confirmed. Cable tray
should be planned with driller. Installation should be supervised.
For legacy ABPA, do not forget oil. Legacy ABPA air regulator is not a replacement for Solus ABPA.
Before connecting air regulator, valve should be arranged according to tool size (10-20% opening). Air
regulator should be placed vertically. Air pressure should be 100 psi (7 bar). ABPA should be connected
to BPC; BPC to computer, BPC lcd panel should show “Ready” to confirm connection. Then, check
ABPA valve is turning (dry downlink). In SOLUS, ABPA is connected to SOLUS DAQ.
If any pressure trapped, it should be released.
From Cadence, start downlink server and controller.
Grounding should be done.
Checks after power shut down:
Turn off everything including SARA-II, all the switches. Restart the cabin again. Turn on computer.
Start Cadence Configurator. We should see “Started” (meaning services working at background),
otherwise should be started manually. Start SARA-II Configurator (will open SaraCDA automatically).
In Solus case, just open SolusDaqio. Check connection to Sara box (green light). Check measurements
seem OK. Then, set block height while talking with driller by setting tool joint. Start depth tracking and
set bit depth (bit depth=total string-block height), be sure that current state should be reaming, not
in slips. Start Sara-II Daqio. Start HSTDecode (RealTime and active mode should be selected). Correct
well and run should be selected. Normally last information should not be changed; but, it is better to
confirm. Start pumps. Look for DataRate, sync, or fat FID pulses. Select one of them and confirm
pulsing. If drill string is not rotating, it will send a survey; it is better waiting for the end of sequence
to start rotating for a clear survey. If it is rotating, no survey. If catching decoding w/o recycling pumps,
look for fat FID. After confirming decoding, check data is processed in RTProc Monitor. And check it
will be stored in RTDataEditor. Start Real Time Visualization, Downlink Server, Downlink Controller,
RD2. Lastly, confirm state of Drilling.
4 of 4
