Drop Drift Cleaner – Cost Effective Drill Pipe Cleaning Post Cementing

Drop Drift Cleaner – Cost Effective Drill Pipe Cleaning Post Cementing

Following cementing operations foam wiper balls are typically used to remove residual cement, drilling fluid or debris from the inside of the drill pipe or tubing. The foam wiper ball is pumped down the drill pipe wiping the internal diameters before being circulated back to surface along with the debris. The use of foam wiper balls whilst the tail of the drill pipe is still submerged in the cement can result in cement disturbance.

 

One way to avoid this is to pull the drill pipe out of hole until the open end of the drill pipe is above the top of cement prior to deploying the foam wiper ball. In order to avoid long-term damage to the drill pipe – such as chemical corrosion from residual drilling fluids – the unwiped stands would need to be re-run at a later date in order to remove the residual cement or debris.

Roschen have developed the Drop Drift Cleaner Package as a solution to this common problem. The Drop Drift Cleaner package consists of a drop drift brush and a land out sub. The land out sub is pre-installed in the drill string before running in hole. Following the cementing operations the drop drift brush is dropped from surface and free-falls through the drill string before landing out in the bespoke internal profile of the catcher sub. The drill pipe is then pulled out of hole and the catcher sub broken out before deploying a foam wiper ball to clean the remaining drill pipe without disturbing cement.

The drop drift brush consists of a weighted bullnose and handle with a bristled cleaning element providing 360 degree coverage and giving the flexibility to pass through tool joint restrictions. The high memory bristles allow the drop drift brush to be used multiple times before replacement.

 

The Drop Drift Cleaner provides a cost-effective, time saving solution to wiping the first ten stands of drill pipe without disturbing cement and has the potential to save 6 hours per well.