GE unveils new shock and vibration measurement drilling equipment

GE has introduced a new version of a tool in its measurement while drilling (MWD) family of downhole drilling equipment to help oil and customers reduce operational costs and increase overall productivity.

The new Directive system enables adjustments and corrections to be made quickly based on real-time data and helps customers optimise drilling penetration rates.

The system has a simplified and compact design with fewer components and is said to add real-time shock and vibration measurement capabilities to GE Oil & Gas’ Tensor Directional Module.

GE downhole technology global business leader James Junker said that the company has been providing precision directional drilling instruments including downhole systems for directional surveying and navigation.

"The design and development of the Directive sensor package was driven by ever-increasing customer requirements for improved reliability and real-time shock and vibration measurements at high temperature," Junker added.

The Directive system design features calibration stability for a longer duration and leads to a lower cost of ownership for the tool. It also provides critical real-time measurements designed to enable the drill bit to be oriented in a direction as required.

Calibration stability of the sensor package under harsh drilling conditions has been engineered for far longer intervals so as to drill with fewer trips to the shop and lower associated repair costs.

The board design fits the processor, four channels of detectors, an A/D converter, two MEMS accelerometers and 32MB of memory onto a reduced number of boards.

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Image: GE’s Directive MWD directional system. Photo: courtesy of General Electric.