Niharika VyasTop drive was introduced as a substitute to the rotary table and kelly drive. It is the modern rotating system which is used in all types of rigs, from truck-mounted to offshore. Replacing Kelly and the kelly bushing, the top drive is located at the swivel’s place and provides torque to the drill string to drill a borehole. Top drive drilling has reduced the manpower requirement and enhanced the drilling efficiency of the overall system.
Owing to the growth of energy consumption and a rise in the demand of oil rigs, the top drive manufacturers have witnessed an improvement in the top drive drilling market. The manufacturers are thus recognizing the need for new technologies and advancements in the top drive system segment and are working towards providing improved systems.
Market insights for top drive manufacturers
When replaced with a rotary table, top drive drilling resulted in the longer drilling sections. It was found that a rig equipped with a rotary table can drill 30 ft sections while a rig equipped with a top drive drilling system can drill 60 to 90 ft. of a drill pipe. Hence, the top drive has now become a popular choice of the operators which is also leading to improved market conditions of the top drive. The top drive drilling market in 2014 had an estimated value of $1,270.2 Million and looking at the pace of development in this field, CAGR of 5.7% is expected by 2020. Thus, analysts expect the top drive market to be of $1,541.6 Million by 2020.
Presently, North America holds the largest market of top drive because of the substantial increase in the number of drilling rigs and rise in exploration & drilling activities of the region. With the development of shale gas and regular technological advancements in the field, the US now dominates this section of the global market. And thus, the demand for the top drive for both onshore and offshore purposes is increasing the region’s global position.
The top drive manufacturers are trying to tap into the growing market opportunities by leveraging the power of technologies. There are many top drive companies who are regularly acknowledging the problems of the drilling industry and working towards bringing improved top drive drilling technologies in the industry.
Some of the major top drive manufacturers are:
Cameron International Corporation
Cameron International is a Schlumberger company which provides pressure control, processing, flow control and compression systems. The company is one of the world’s leading top drive manufacturers whose reliability has grown with time. The operators believe that the company will provide them top drive that can fit in all their requirements. The various type of top drive offered by Cameron are:
- TD-250-AC-1M Top Drive
- Top Drive 500
- TD-750-AC-1M-C
- TD-1000-AC-2M
These top drives have various areas of application and can be operated on land and offshore rigs accordingly. The top drive drilling system offered by the company is efficient and reliable.
NOV is a leading drive manufacturer and provides operational support necessary for success. The company assures high quality and reliable top drive systems. With the growing need of top drive drilling, the company has improved its system and continuously looks for areas of improvement. The variants of top drive provided by the company are:
- IDS-350PE Top Drive
- TDS-10SH Top Drive
- TDS-11HD
- TDS-11SA Top Drive
- TDS-11SAE
- TDS-11SH Top Drive
Aker Solutions manufactures a wide range of top drive systems which are being widely used across the industry. The company engineers its products according to the need of the industry because of the 170 years of experience in the industry. The major advancement in the top drive has been made by Aker which has been launched as MH MDDM 1000™ top drive. It is much more efficient and precise than the previous products of the company.
Application of Top Drive System
The top drive system market is largely separated because of the types of top drives available for drilling. Basically, there are two types of top drives, hydraulic and electric. But according to the research, the electric top drive market owns a larger share compared to the hydraulic one in the top drive drilling’s global market space.
The hydraulic top drive performs necessary drilling operations with the help of power generated using a Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU). Hydraulic top drives have a smaller footprint on the rig site when compared to its electric counterparts. Improved energy-storage capacity is a key benefit to choosing a hydraulic top drive.
In the oil & gas industry, top drive technology is used to increase performance and safety. The Electric Top Drive can be designed as both transportable as well as permanently installed units. These are used on deep drilling rigs with different mast types. The top drive drilling system is powered by an AC motor. The system is often controlled by a separate control panel.
The market of top drive is geographically separated according to the demand criteria. It can be segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Further, the growing demand for the electric top drive is due to zero harmful gas emissions owing to no application of hydraulic fluids. Top drives, on the whole, have become popular because of the time efficiency and accuracy provided by the unit.
Benefits of Top Drive Oil Rig
The top drive drilling system is known to be one of the most notable advancements in drilling technology since the introduction of the rotary table. Today, top drive drilling rigs, are recognized to drill faster and safer in comparison to the rotary drilling rig and with far less instances of stuck drill pipe. Moreover, drilling with a top drive drilling system enables operators to reach areas and types of formations that would have been out of reach previously with conventional rotary drilling. When looked back, it can be said that extended reach and horizontal drilling have brought an exponential increase in production rates from oil fields. All these advantages, along with improved well control and better hole conditioning, have made top drive oil rig an indisputable upper hand over the other conventional technologies previously used.
Over a period of time, the ratings of top drive systems have been enhanced in order to increase rig floor safety and to allow running of larger casing strings. The top drive manufacturers have been devising various means in order to improve on the drilling capability and efficiency of the top drive drilling on the whole.
Some of the major advantages of the top drive oil rig have been mentioned below:
- Top drive oil rig enables deeper drilling with much more efficiency. It has supported and improved directional drilling abilities and helped them reach deep wells or long horizontal sections.
- The overall safety of the oil rig has been enhanced with the reduction in connections on the rig. Also, the ability to control kicks have been improved while the drill pipe is tripped out of the hole. Because the driller can rotate in and out the hole, sticking the pipe is minimized.
To conclude, the top drive drilling is much safer, faster and efficient than conventional methods. They are able to rotate the pipe while tripping pipe into/out of the hole and reduces problems related to the stuck pipe. Also, the recent advancements in the top drive motor have helped the drilling industry continue achieving better efficiency and higher accuracy.
The top drive system has been one of the major breakthroughs of the drilling industry which is constantly being improved according to industry demands. With time, top drive drilling has taken the place of Kelly systems and is favouring safer drilling operations. With regular improvements around the corner, it would be interesting to watch the upcoming trends in the top drive market.
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