Wolfcamp and Bone Spring Formations of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico hold oil and gas reserves estimated at 46.3 billion barrels of oil. According to a fourth quarter 2018 U.S. Geological Society report, full production estimates through 2025 predict that by 2021 one in every six barrels of oil, globally, will come from the Permian Basin.
Wirelining in Permian Basin
Entrec Crane and Heavy Hauling, Inc.’s purchase of multiple Link-Belt HTC-86100s and a TCC-1100 comes in large part due to the growing demand of the recovery process in this region. A common application for the 100-ton (90-mt) hydraulic truck is “wirelining,” a process that refers to the cabling used in the industry to lower equipment or measure devices already drilled in a drilled hole shaft. The HTC-86100 lifts a suspended drum of cable, which is composed of 20,000 ft. (6,096 m) of 9/32 in. (7.1 mm) steel wire.
“To assemble components together over the wellhead to wireline it, I have to have it exactly on a perfect radius. I use the whip line for that, to get components to the exact same location,” said operator Tyler Doll, Entrec Crane and Heavy Hauling, Inc.
The crane can be in the same position for weeks at a time, checking logistics of the well head thru wirelining. When done on one location, the 100-ton rig will move to another well head location.
“Out here, we stand a lot of pipes, running three functions at one time and it’s fairly easy and maneuverable with the double joy sticks, the tight controls, and adjustable swings. I use them when I need more maneuverability over speed. I tighten down the controls to get more accurate precision, because on the day to day operation, we have to drop the lubricator precisely on the wellhead without any variance,” explained Tyler Doll.
Additional Work Required
Bo Beckner, another HTC-86100 operator, works another 100-ton Link-Belt truck crane to off-load mud pumps that weigh 96,000 lbs. (43, 544 kg) as a tandem lift. The pump box measures about 15 ft. (4.5 m) high, almost 13 ft. (3.9 m) wide and over 40 ft. (12.1 m) long. Each crane will be lifting about 50,000 lbs. (22,679 kg) rigged with a 20 ft. (6.0 m) radius at a 60 degree boom angle and 70 ft. (21.2 m) of boom extended in the EM5 mode.
Beckner considers the responsive controls on the crane easy to run, and visibility very good for lifting or traveling around the jobsite.
“They are self-contained and do not require a support vehicle. Also, this crane has a strong chart for a hundred ton machine. It really does,” explained Tommy Patterson, operations manager of the Texas Entrec office.
Source: Link-Belt
