11 February 2014, News Wires – Today’s oilfield workers are busier than ever thanks to a shortage of experienced know-how in the industry. Indeed, as this article from September warns, Generation X oil workers (those aged in their 40s and 50s) are in danger of “burning out” due to their juggling family commitments and an ever-increasing workload. Meanwhile, although Gen Y workers are rapidly becoming the go-to candidates to fill vacant positions in the oil and gas industry, they face a steep learning curve. One way of lightening Generation X’s load while assisting Gen Y in its learning about the industry is through the increased use of technology. Smartphones are increasingly being used to improve people’s social and working lives through their “apps”. So, Rigzone takes a look at a few of the free smartphone apps that are available for oilfield workers.
Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary Need to know how to tell an electric submersible pump from a positive displacement pump? Or do you need to get to grips with all the different kinds of drilling fluid you might come across at a well site? Particularly useful for younger workers still learning about the industry, the Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary contains definitions for more than 4,600 industry terms. The app is used by simply entering the term (or part of the term) you are interested in into the search box. The Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary app is available for all Apple devices, while the company is currently exploring how the app can be supported on other platforms.
Pumper’s Friend The Pumper’s Friend app is designed to help oilfield pumpers manage their wells more efficiently, using a visual interface that is aimed at making the collection of tank and gauge data easy. Data can also be transmitted back to the office, where the tank and gauge data can be plotted – so making it simple to view well performance. Users rely on a touch screen interface and oilfield images to quickly enter their readers by moving dials, rules and levels on the screen. This, claims the app’s publisher, means that data entry errors are reduced because there is no need to enter numerical values. The Pumper’s Friend app is available for iPhone.
eRedbook Mobile
For more than 80 years, oilfield services firm Halliburton’s Cementing Tables – known as the RedBook cementing tables – have been an important reference for calculations used in drilling, cementing and completing oil and gas wells.
As well as providing a software version of the RedBook that can be downloaded to a PC, Halliburton has developed an eRedBook Mobile app for mobile devices that contains volume calculators as well as data from the American Petroleum Institute for casing, tubing, coil tubing and drill pipe.
The eRedBook app provides the user with a range of benefits, according to Halliburton, which include:
Instant access to key dimensions and strengths for pipes, including collapse pressure, inner diameter and weight
Access to specifications for the user’s most frequently-used tubulars to quickly calculate capacity and annulus volumes
The capability to view volume measurements and calculations in Metric or British Imperial Units
The capability to calculate total volumes in a large range of units and volume per depth in multiple units
The ability to copy results with a single click
Halliburton claims the eRedBook Mobile app is indispensable for on-the-go field engineers, business development professionals and engineering students.
The eRedBook Mobile app is available for both Apple and Android-enabled devices.
Baker Hughes Rig Counts Baker Hughes Rig Counts app is an interactive map that lists the company’s U.S. rotary rig counts. The Baker Hughes Rig Counts – which are updated weekly – are used as a business barometer for the drilling industry and its suppliers, since the active rig count acts as an indicator of demand for products used in drilling, completing, producing and processing hydrocarbons. The Baker Hughes Rig Counts app is available for iPhone and iPad.
Rigzone It would be remiss of Rigzone not to mention one of the key sources of news and jobs for oilfield workers around the world: the Rigzone App. A must-have app for oil and gas professionals, this app puts the power of industry information into the hands of users – providing them on-the-go access to news, jobs, data and events. The app has customizable push alerts that users can personalize for instant notification of new information that meets their interests. The Rigzone app is available for as Apple and Android-enabled devices.
Energent Oilfield Data Energent Group, a specialist in upstream research, provides a free Drilling Permits, Well Completions and Oilfield Data app that gives the user the latest oil and gas market data in several Texan plays, including the Eagle Ford Formation, the Cline Shale and the Permian Basin. Once the user has registered with Energent, he can view drilling permits, well completions and wellbores across Texas while the data is updated on a monthly basis. The Energent Oilfield Data app is available for all Apple devices.
WellHandbook – Volume
The WellHandbook app is a volume calculating application aimed at cementing professionals. Just as with Baker Hughes’ eRedBook app, WellHandbook is designed to facilitate calculations that were once performed by referring to engineering tables and a calculator.
The app allows users to:
Calculate the annular volume between open hole or casing and the inner casing, drillpipe or tubing
Calculate the metal displacement volume of drillpipes and tubings
Calculate the capacity volume of open holes, casings, drillpipes and tubings
Provides annular, capacity or metal displacement volume calculation to up to three different sections
Add excess percentage volume for annular and capacity volume
Use English oilfield units, Metric units or mixed units to cover the particularities of the geographies where the user is operating.
The WellHandbook app is available for Apple and Android-enabled devices.
Drilling Well The Drilling Well app is a tool designed to help oilfield professionals and students with a range of calculations related to drilling operations. The app can be used to work out capacities and volumes, pump output and flow rates, hydrostatic pressures, temperatures and other key data required for well control. The Drilling Well app is available for all Apple devices.
American Petroleum Institute As well as providing access to news about the American Petroleum Institute, the API app also includes statistics, reports and documents relevant to oilfield workers. Current prices for crude oil, natural gas and the average gasoline prices, as well as a state-by-state view of taxes on gas and diesel prices can be accessed via the app. The API app is available for Apple and Android-enabled devices.
Schlumberger Quick Calc Hydraulics
Anyone with a good engineering degree knows that, given the time, most engineering calculations can be solved with a pen and paper (and perhaps, the help of a calculator). But when time is tight, an app that solves all your equations for you is very welcome.
Quick Calc Hydraulics, also by Schlumberger, is one such smart device app. It is designed to provide a snapshot of the hydraulic horsepower, jet velocity and impact forces created at a jet nozzle orifice, which is installed in a drilling bit during earth-boring operations.
The user simply keys in his numbers for fluid density, flow rates, TFA and bit diameter before QCH calculates the respective hydraulic parameters for conventional drilling fluids. The calculated results can then be forwarded to anyone in the user’s contact list.
The Quick Calc Hydraulics app is available for all Apple devices.
A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at [email protected]
– Rigzone
