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42 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL January 2017
products & developments
Gas testing of Simultra retrievable
bridge plug
Peak Well Systems, a specialist in the
design and development of advanced
downhole tools for well intervention,
has been commissioned by an
international oil company to undertake
gas testing of both the 4½" and 5½"
Simultra retrievable bridge plug at a
10,000 psi and 175°C specification.
The customer has a requirement for a
high-performance retrievable plug for
its HTHP high rate wells, and Simultra
is the only retrievable bridge plug to
meet its specifications.
Peak’s Simultra range incorporates
MetaPlex technology – a hybrid
metal-elastomer seal that delivers
both performance and improved
recovery reliability. The range has
been specifically designed by Peak
to address the growing demand for
high-performance retrievable bridge
plugs with reliable recovery every time,
whilst being capable of providing high
temperature, high pressure and gas
tight (14310-V0 grade) zonal isolation in
even the most extreme sour conditions.
Testing of the 5½" Simultra retrievable
bridge plug to the required customer
specification took place at Peak’s gas
pressure testing facility in Aberdeen,
UK.
Upon the successful completion of
additional customer-witnessed tests
for the 4½" and 5½" Simultra plugs,
attention will turn to securing field
tests.
Robin McGowan, chief technology
officer at Peak Well Systems, said, “We
are very pleased with the progress being
made in our development programme
for the Simultra range. We now have V0
certification for our 4½" and 5½" plugs
across all standard tubing weights.
“The interest already shown by leading
oil operators in Simultra technology
is a testament to the growing market
demand for a higher performance plug
with superior retrievability and running
clearance to help reduce costs and
increase efficiencies in the most
challenging gas wells.”
Peak Well Systems – Australia
The new Rotoweld 3.0
Tecnar has introduced the new
Rotoweld 3.0. For more than 20 years,
Rotoweld pipe welding work cells have
been the worldwide reference in the
pipe spool prefabrication industry.
Specifically developed for industrial
pipe pre-fabrication, small pressure
vessel manufacturing or other similar 1G
welding, Rotoweld integrates machine
vision, adaptive control and robotics
technology in a completely dedicated
package that produces high quality
GMAW full penetration 1G girth welds, at
five times the rate of manual SMAW.
The Rotoweld 3.0 is the result of
re-engineering of all aspects of the
machine, including mechanical design,
servo-controls, computer and software,
taking advantage of all the latest
technologies. The most visible change is
the robotised manipulator that provides
increased flexibility for torch positioning
in various machine configurations.
The core of the Rotoweld technology
is its unique, patented, vision-based
penetration control loop. It allows
any operator, with little to no welding
experience, to perform high quality, full
penetration girth welds with just a few
hours of training. Operating like the
welder’s eyes and hands, the control
loop continuously analyses the image
of the root weld pool. Image processing
algorithms use the image to adjust
welding parameters such as travel speed,
wire feed rate, arc voltage or weaving
width, constantly adapting the process to
varying conditions (gap, alignment, root
face and temperature).
The Rotoweld 3.0 is designed in a mod-
ular architecture, allowing customers to
select different configurations, such as
SAW or FCAW, better suiting operators’
needs. In particular, a new low-cost
base model was developed that delivers
the same high quality welds on the full
pipe size range of the previous version
but at lower productivity rates. The base
model is built with a single rotator and
work bay, compared to the standard two
work bays and two rotators setup.
Tecnar – Canada