Robert B. Trainer, III President & CEOMWD tools use a magnetometer to determine true vertical depth which, establishes the bottom-hole location as well as the orientation of directional drilling systems. Over time, there have been many improvements in MWD technology that have helped drillers increase drilling efficiency by allowing them to steer the bit with real-time formation evaluation measurements. However, the MWD process has inherent technical weaknesses, given that the measurements can have errors that require mathematical corrections, which often still have discrepancies.
Due to the complexity of subsurface geology, directional drilling requires a wide range of dynamic solutions. Operators have the challenge of drilling through various types of rock formations and completing operations in a timely, efficient and cost-effective manner. Achieving all of this requires an accurate measurement of true north, which is a cornerstone of effective directional guidance and drilling. It is also imperative to have the true north measurement in order to accurately position a well or bottom hole assembly (BHA). Thus, 40 years ago, when experts at Gyrodata developed a gyrosensor that could precisely measure true north, it became a game-changer for the industry. In terms of inclination, azimuth and tool face, the Gyrodata technology created decades ago has been the leading directional drilling solution when it comes to the accuracy of measurements. "If you fast forward 40 years from our inception in 1980 to 2019, you will see that we have emerged as a leader in the drilling services market with our suit of drilling, logging, and high-precision wellbore placement technologies," states Robert Trainer, President and CEO of Gyrodata.
Why Precision Drilling Matters
The stakes are high for the drilling industry in the U.S. and across the globe. In the U.S. alone, there are more than a million active oil and gas wells. Since the downturn, operators have been focusing on achieving greater drilling efficiency and precision while also staying on budget. Operators also strive to drill wells as quickly as possible, while also ensuring safe drilling operations. To achieve all of this, operators have increasingly required and demanded accurate directional knowledge and calculations. Operators calculate the well path coordinates by using measurements of depth, inclination and azimuth at a series of points along the wellbore. These measurements, however, can at times be prone to errors that can cause problems for operators and service companies. For example, errors in azimuth and inclination could lead to environmental disasters, such as a well blowout or incidents resulting in collisions between wells. More commonly, these errors result in the placement of a wellbore that is materially different than the well plan as requested by the reservoir groups within the operators, and consequently result in sub-optimal production and overall lifecycle economics. Accordingly, operators need to work proactively to ensure that measurements are as accurate as possible to ensure safe and efficient drilling operations.
This is where Gyrodata comes in. Gyrodata is equipped with efficient and innovative gyro surveying tools and technologies that help operators achieve an extremely accurate wellbore location so costly collisions can be avoided and production can be maximized.
Inception and Growth
Gyrodata offers comprehensive drilling solutions that were historically not available on the market.
If you fast forward 40 years from our inception in 1980 to 2019, you will see that we have emerged as a leader in the drilling services market with our suit of drilling, logging, and high-precision wellbore placement technologies," states Robert Trainer, President and CEO of Gyrodata
The company was founded as a privately owned oil field service company nearly four decades ago in 1980. The first technology that it developed was a mechanical gyro (known otherwise as a “spinning mass” gyro), which was very accurate despite some inherent limitations related to how rugged the sensor was to the downhole environment. In 1983, the company ran its first commercial gyroscopic survey. By 1992, it had introduced a gyroscopic steering tool into the market. This tool allowed for real-time gyro tool face on wireline while-drilling and sliding. Over the years, experts from Gyrodata perfected and created gyro sensors that were greatly reduced in size and materially more robust to address the realities of the rugged environment downhole. The ruggedness of the gyro sensors improved significantly to the point where they were capable of withstanding harsh downhole environments while drilling a concept that had been previously impossible for technologists in the industry to overcome. Through its gyro surveying services, Gyrodata has delivered the most accurate and precise survey data to operators for their drilling operations all over the world.
Today, Gyrodata operates from a base of 36 offices located around the world in virtually every energy market globally. The company continues to drive growth in all of its regions around the world, with the goal of being one of the largest integrated drilling services providers.
High-Accuracy Survey Data Is To Key to Well Optimization & Lifecycle Economics
Gyrodata has a full-service drilling services business that includes gyroscopic surveying tools, MWD tools, mud motors, rotary steerable systems, logging services as well as real-time operation monitoring services. All of Gyrodata’s products are provided as a packaged service.
When it comes to wellbore placement and placement intelligence, Gyrodata offers surveying services during drilling and after a well has been drilled. One of Gyrodata’s flagship services is the gyro-while-drilling (“GWDTM”) service, which as the name implies provides drillers and operators with real-time gyro information while drilling the well. In addition, for certain applications, operators may determine that a survey immediately after the well is drilled is sufficient. This type of survey is typically conducted by dropping a gyrosensor and tool into the drill pipe when the BHA is at total depth. Without consuming any incremental rig-time, Gyrodata’s drop technologies take a set of measurements that can be captured as a client is tripping drill pipe out of the well. Gyrodata is also able to utilize its surveying tools with other types of tools, including Gyrodata-owned or third-party logging equipment, such as cement bond logs and casing logging tools. These combination services provide clients with multiple sets of data and great information on one run, rather than multiple runs from different service providers. After wells have been brought online, operators have turned to Gyrodata for assistance for a range of technical challenges. For example, Gyrodata is often called out because a client experiences rapidly declining production or even cases where production stops altogether. Oftentimes in these examples, clients do not have sufficient information to determine the root cause for why production has decreased/ceased. Gyrodata can help define the issues by running a gyro combined with other equipment, which can provide very high-density data.
