kelly bushing elevation price

In the oil and gas industry, depth in a well is the measurement, for any point in that well, of the distance between a reference point or elevation, and that point. It is the most common method of reference for locations in the well, and therefore, in oil industry speech, “depth” also refers to the location itself.

Because wells are not always drilled vertically, there may be two “depths” for every given point in a wellbore: the measured depth (MD) measured along the path of the borehole, and the true vertical depth (TVD), the absolute vertical distance between the datum and the point in the wellbore. In perfectly vertical wells, the TVD equals the MD; otherwise, the TVD is less than the MD measured from the same datum. Common datums used are ground level (GL), drilling rig floor (DF), rotary table (RT), kelly bushing (KB) and mean sea level (MSL). [1]

Kelly Bushing Height (KB):The height of the drilling floor above the ground level. Many wellbore depth measurements are taken from the Kelly Bushing. The Kelly bushing elevation is calculated by adding the ground level to the Kelly bushing height.

In the oil and gas industry, depth in a well is the measurement, for any point in that well, of the distance between a reference point or elevation, and that point. It is the most common method of reference for locations in the well, and therefore, in oil industry speech, “depth” also refers to the location itself.

Because wells are not always drilled vertically, there may be two “depths” for every given point in a wellbore: the measured depth (MD) measured along the path of the borehole, and the true vertical depth (TVD), the absolute vertical distance between the datum and the point in the wellbore. In perfectly vertical wells, the TVD equals the MD; otherwise, the TVD is less than the MD measured from the same datum. Common datums used are ground level (GL), drilling rig floor (DF), rotary table (RT), kelly bushing (KB) and mean sea level (MSL). [1]

Kelly Bushing Height (KB):The height of the drilling floor above the ground level. Many wellbore depth measurements are taken from the Kelly Bushing. The Kelly bushing elevation is calculated by adding the ground level to the Kelly bushing height.

At a previous employer a coworker came to me and told me that a group within our company had asked for all the KB (kelly bushing) elevations for every well in Colorado. I replied that it made no sense and asked my coworker to see if the reference elevations were what they really wanted. The coworker returned the next day and indicated that they had insisted on the KB elevations. We supplied the KB elevations and sure enough, about a week later they came back and asked for the reference elevations.

It’s really important to understand the data you’re working with – what it is, where it came from, and what it can be used for. The problem is sometimes actually harder than it seems. If we use the example above, most logs are measured from the KB elevation, correct? So you want KB elevations when normalizing logs to the sea-level datum?

Yes, most logs are measured from the KB. No, never use just the KB. Some logs are measured from the DF (derrick floor), GR (ground), or CHF (casing head flange), and there are a few other strange places logs are measured from. In today’s world, where multiple rigs can drill multiple sections of a well, the KB can have different elevations depending on the run of the log. It’s really important to put things back together on a common reference point so the logs aren’t off and formations can be correlated and depth corrected. (Side note: the definition of MSL, mean sea-level, is also probably a good topic of future discussion. It’s probably not what or where you think it is).

I really like to use the CHF as the reference elevation because after surface casing is run and cemented in, it is a constant point that has a single elevation point throughout the drilling and completion cycle. No matter what the elevation of the rig or completion is, the CHF is always at the same elevation.

So the KB is a physical place on the rig and the reference elevation is the physical place where the log was measured from. They can be the same thing but equating them everywhere will certainly create incorrect data.

Where the elevations come from is another question. Elevations are often supplied on the drilling permit, the completion report, the logs, and probably a couple of other reports.

The elevation starts when the surveyor goes out and measures precisely where the oil and gas company wants the well. Today everything is done by GPS, and the surveyor gets a latitude, longitude, and elevation. At the precise spot, the surveyor pounds a steak into the ground and ties an orange surveyor’s ribbon on it. It’s usually in some pasture and hopefully not on the side of a hill or in the middle of some pond. That does happen, however, despite the fact that the geologist spends months studying the subsurface. The thing is, they probably don’t spend more than 10 minutes looking at the surface.

Some companies will actually call back the surveyor to have him give a final elevation of the ground and of the KB and/or DF. If you’re really lucky, the company will have also asked the surveyor to respot the well location so there is an updated lat/long, but don’t count on it. One of the most shocking comments I’ve heard about well locations is, “I don’t worry about well locations anymore because everyone uses a GPS.” Yes, the surveyor used a GPS to place the stake in the ground … just before the bulldozer pushed it into the dirt pile.

If the ground elevation changed between the permit and the completion report, there’s an excellent chance the surveyor came back and resurveyed (and hopefully he also included an elevation to something permanent, like the CHF).

So the question is, now that we have established that we might have several different elevations, what is the best one to use? Oh how I wish that were the only question that needed answering. Elevations are reported to the state and elsewhere from lots of different sources. Permits, completions, activity reports, and logs are the main documents where this data can be found. Locations are a different story, and it is a rare event to see a correction.

The elevations off the log are probably the best to use. Though I have seen them wrong on the log, it’s a rare occurrence. The elevations are generally captured to support the geologist in making structure maps, so there’s a good chance they’ve been checked and verified.

The completion information is also another good place to grab the elevations. However, grabbing them from the permit would personally be my last choice, but it’s a lot better than nothing or an estimated elevation from a topo map or DLG file.

So the next time you are looking for an elevation, ask yourself, what was it referenced to, what document did it come from and, probably most importantly, is it a reasonable value?

A couple of other TDs come into play when you are drilling directional or horizontal wells. MTD is the measured total depth, which is the distance along the wellbore. The other piece of information is the true vertical depth (TVD), which is the distance of the well from the surface. There is actually one other measurement, called true vertical depth subsea (TVDSS), which is the TVD as referenced from the reference elevation. In many instances this ends up with data below the sea level and the values are negative. Think of this like a thermometer, where some values are below zero (below sea-level).

Kelly Bushing Height (KB): The height of the drilling floor above the ground level. Many wellbore depth measurements are taken from the Kelly Bushing. The Kelly bushing elevation is calculated by adding the ground level to the Kelly bushing height.

1. n. [Drilling] An adapter that serves to connect the rotary table to the kelly. The kelly bushing has an inside diameter profile that matches that of the kelly, usually square or hexagonal. It is connected to the rotary table by four large steel pins that fit into mating holes in the rotary table.

A Kelly bushing (some people call “rotary Kelly bushing”) engages a master bushing via four pins and rollers inside a Kelly bushing to allow a Kelly to move up or down freely while it is rotated or in a static mode. This video demonstrates how to make a connection via a Kelly system.

Kelly bushing is that elevated device positioned right on top of the rotary table and used to transmit torque from the rotary table to the kelly. The kelly bushing is designed to be the connection between the rotary table and the kelly.

1. n. [Drilling] An adapter that serves to connect the rotary table to the kelly. The kelly bushing has an inside diameter profile that matches that of the kelly, usually square or hexagonal. It is connected to the rotary table by four large steel pins that fit into mating holes in the rotary table.

The kelly is used to transmit rotary motion from the rotary table or kelly bushing to the drillstring, while allowing the drillstring to be lowered or raised during rotation.

1. adj. [Drilling] Referring to the condition that occurs when the kelly is all the way down, so drilling progress cannot continue. A connection must be made, which has the effect of raising the kelly up by the length of the new joint of drillpipe added, so drilling can resume.

This means that Top Drives can drill about 90 feet before making a connection, whereas with a Kelly System, you will make a connection at about 30 feet deep. Another difference between a Kelly and a Top Drive is that a Top Drive System allows rotation and circulation while back reaming out of a hole.

Kelly drive system is capable to drill with one single drill pipe. On other hand TDS is capable to drill with drill pipe stand. One drill pipe stand is made of three drill pipe joints together.

Kelly bars operate by transferring the torque and crowd force from a rotary drive tool to the drilling tool. Many kelly bars can be applied to any type of piling rig that is available on the market. Kelly bars can be divided into two main types: friction kelly bars and interlocking kelly bars.

The wear bushing is housed in the head or in the spool and is secured by means of two tie down screws to protect it against damage or wear during drilling. It is installed or retrieved with either a simple installation tool or with the HCC combined tool.

Kelly Saver Subs refer to a sub used between the Kelly or top head drive and the drill pipe. It is usually a pin to pin sub that takes the wear abuse to protect the drill pipe and the drive connection. Mills can furnish these subs along with the fluted, hex, or square Kelly Bar drive itself.

A mechanical device for rotating the kelly. The kelly spinner is typically pneumatic. It is a relatively low torque device, useful only for the initial makeup of threaded tool joints. It is not strong enough for proper torque of the tool joint or for rotating the drillstring itself.

This means that Top Drives can drill about 90 feet before making a connection, whereas with a Kelly System, you will make a connection at about 30 feet deep. Another difference between a Kelly and a Top Drive is that a Top Drive System allows rotation and circulation while back reaming out of a hole.

Kelly bars are key components in the execution of boreholes with hydraulic rotary drilling rigs. They transfer the torque of the rotary drive and the crowd pressure of the crowd system concurrently to the drilling tool.

A kelly drive is a type of well drilling device on an oil or gas drilling rig that employs a section of pipe with a polygonal (three-, four-, six-, or eight-sided) or splined outer surface, which passes through the matching polygonal or splined kelly (mating) bushing and rotary table.

A conventional rotary rig or rotary table rig or kelly drive rig is a drilling rig where the rotation of the drill string and bit is applied from a rotary table on the rig floor.

Kelly drive system is capable to drill with one single drill pipe. On other hand TDS is capable to drill with drill pipe stand. One drill pipe stand is made of three drill pipe joints together.

Kelly bars operate by transferring the torque and crowd force from a rotary drive tool to the drilling tool. Many kelly bars can be applied to any type of piling rig that is available on the market. Kelly bars can be divided into two main types: friction kelly bars and interlocking kelly bars.

The JOTKB MODEL 27 PDHD OR 20 PDHD are developed for pin drive master bushing for rotary table sizes from 27-1/2" to 49-1/2" having 25-3/4" and 23" dia pin center. This unit is used for heavy duty drilling operations and high torque conditions on off shore as well as on shore drilling operations, and handle Kelly sizes from 3" to 6" Square or Hexagonal.

In most drilling operations the rotary table elevation is used as the working depth reference. The abbreviation BRT (below rotary table) and RKB (rotary kelly bushing) are used to indicate depths measured from the rotary table. This can also be referred to as derrick floor elevation. For floating drilling rigs the rotary table elevation is not fixed and hence a mean rotary table elevation has to be used.

In order to compare individual wells within the same field, a common depth reference must be defined and referred to (e.g. When drilling a relief well into a blow-out well, the difference in elevation between the wellheads has to be accurately known). Offshore, mean sea level (MSL) is sometimes used. Variations in actual sea level from MSL can be read from tide tables or can be measured.

A device fitted to the rotary table through which the kelly passes. It is the means by which the torque of the rotary table is transmitted to the kelly and to the drill stem. Also called the drive bushing.†

A hole in the rig floor 30 to 35 feet deep, lined with casing that projects above the floor. The kelly is placed in the rathole when hoisting operations are in progress.†

The hose on a rotary drilling rig that conducts the drilling fluid from the mud pump and standpipe to the swivel and kelly; also called the mud hose or the kelly hose.†

The principal component of a rotary, or rotary machine, used to turn the drill stem and support the drilling assembly. It has a beveled gear arrangement to create the rotational motion and an opening into which bushings are fitted to drive and support the drilling assembly.

Wedge-shaped pieces of metal with teeth or other gripping elements that are used to prevent pipe from slipping down into the hole or to hold pipe in place. Rotary slips fit around the drill pipe and wedge against the master bushing to support the pipe. Power slips are pneumatically or hydraulically actuated devices that allow the crew to dispense with the manual handling of slips when making a connection. Packers and other down hole equipment are secured in position by slips that engage the pipe by action directed at the surface.†

The top drive rotates the drill string end bit without the use of a kelly and rotary table. The top drive is operated from a control console on the rig floor.†

A 12 1/4-inch diameter hole was drilled to 10,360 feet relative to the kelly bushing elevation (RKB), which is 20 feet above ground level; and 9 5/8-inch protection casing was installed from 10,327 feet RKB to the surface. The casing was cemented with 1,716 cubic feet (306 barrels) of Halliburton premium plus cement from total depth to 6,550 KB. The upper portion of the casing was cemented with 3,092 cubic feet (551 barrels) of Halliburton premium plus cement with good cement returns.