Gas Turbines: A Problem Creator Or Solver In Offshore Drilling
Authors: Jageman R.R. , Hayes L.J. 
Published: December 2007

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for the 43rd Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Houston, Tex., Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 1968. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made. provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

Gas turbines have become, and are going to be, more popular in offshore drilling because of their light weight and small size compared to other prime movers of equivalent horsepower. Proper application requires careful scrutiny of Proper application requires careful scrutiny of installation conditions and operating environment.

The environment air must be treated to eliminate certain chemicals that tend to react with the blade material. Air impurities that are normally problems in a drilling rig, such as barite and cement, must be reduced to particle sizes that the machine can tolerate. Due to the large volume of air handled, air velocities in exhaust and inlet ducts must be kept at a level to minimize noise. Careful study of methods to reduce temperature in the engine room is imperative to reduce shutdowns on high lube oil temperature and Tmax. Turbine inlet and exhaust silencing should be augmented with engine room acoustical treatment to minimize total noise level.

Machines are available for use with diesel, natural gas and crude oil. In some cases, conversion can be made between the systems. Of particular importance is clean fuel, since the gas must have no free hydrocarbons and water. Both gaseous and liquid fuels must be checked to make sure that certain chemical elements which would coat the turbine blades are not present. present. It is the nature of the turbine to be easily controlled and started and stopped rapidly. In view of this, AC Auto Synchronizing, Auto Load Sharing and Load Shed is easily and economically accomplished. Of particular significance is the possibility of utilizing this capability with possibility of utilizing this capability with Silicon Controlled Rectifiers to produce a DC system for traction motors. The AC base load of the installation can be utilized with the variable DC load. This system creates less maintenance with broader flexibility at a competitive price. The total price becomes much more price. The total price becomes much more appealing when waste heat utilization is employed.

With proper care and planning a system can be evolved that utilizes both the fuel flexibility and the excellent control aspects of the turbine.

Introduction

Offshore drilling rigs have continuously grown larger and more powerful, but the costs of weight, space and equipment have increased at an even more rapid rate.