A Colorado rig contractor used MONGOOSE Max™ high-capacity shaker and SCREEN PULSE™ fluid and cuttings separator to improve separation efficiency and maintain target pumping volumes while drilling four wells using the same 40 shaker screens.
A rig contractor in Colorado needed to maintain solids handling and fluid pumping volumes while drilling multiple sections in four wells; its existing single-deck shakers were unable to meet the demands of the operator’s ambitious drilling campaign. To support the operator’s high pumping and drilling rates, the contractor sought a high-performance replacement for its legacy separating equipment.
SLB recommended the M-I SWACO MONGOOSE Max high-capacity shakers with SCREEN PULSE fluid and cuttings separator, which are field proven to increase solids- and fluid handling capacity by 35%, reduce mud on cuttings by more than 35%, and cut waste by 25% compared with previous-generation shakers.
The advanced MONGOOSE Max shaker combines balanced and progressive elliptical motion locked in position with fixed weights. This motion provides a g-force of 8—enabling higher process rates of solids without sacrificing screen durability. The driller used the SCREEN PULSE separator’s unique pulsating suction to pull residual fluid from the drill cuttings, improving fluid recovery by more than 40% compared with conventional shaker equipment.
Using the new separating equipment, the operator successfully drilled four wells with multiple sections at an average pump rate of 800 galUS/min. By optimizing fluid recovery, the operator reduced disposal and drilling fluid costs while meeting the most stringent environmental standards.
What’s more, only 5 of the 40 DURAFLO™ composite screens showed any significant wear. SLB used the M-I SWACO SNAP-LOK™ plug screen-repair system to refurbish the screens within minutes—bringing all 40 screens back into service for the duration of the four-well drilling campaign. The durability of the shaker screens not only reduced trucking requirements, forklift moves, and equipment storage, it reduced screen consumption by approximately 64% compared with conventional screens.
DURAFLO, MONGOOSE Max, SCREEN PULSE, and SNAP-LOK are marks of M-I L.L.C., an SLB company.
