Drill string

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In petroleum drilling technology, a drill string in an oil rig is the column, or string, of drill pipe with attached tool joints that transmits fluid and rotational power from the kelly drive or top drive to the drill collars and bit. Often, especially in the oil patch, the term is loosely applied to both drill pipe and drill collars. Some type of drilling fluid is almost always pumped down the inside of the drill string and circulated back up the annulus, or ring shaped void between the drill string and the formation.

1 Drill String Components
2 Running a Drill String

[edit] Drill String Components

The drill string is typically made up of 3 components:

Bottomhole assembly (BHA)
Transition pipe
Drill Pipe

Each component is made up of several parts. The various tools in each component are joined together using special threaded connections known as rotary shouldered connections.

[edit] BHA

The BHA is made up of a drill bit which is used to drill the hole, drill collars which are large OD tubulars used to apply weight to the drill bit, and stabilizers which keep the drilling assembly centered in the hole. The BHA may also contain other components such as a downhole motor, measurement while drilling (MWD), and logging while drilling (LWD) tools.

[edit] Transition Pipe

Heavy Weight Drill Pipe (HWDP) is used to make the transition between the drill collars and drill pipe. The function of the HWDP is to provide a flexible transition between the drill collars and the drill pipe. This helps to reduce the number of fatigue failures seen directly above the BHA. A secondary use of HWDP is to add additional weight to the drill bit.

[edit] Drill Pipe

Drill Pipe is always the longest component in a drill string. Typically thousands of feet of drill pipe are used to drill an oil well.

[edit] Running a Drill String

Most components in a drill string are manufactured in 31 foot lengths (range 2) although they can also be manufactured in 45 foot lengths (range 3). Each 31 foot component is referred to as a joint. Typically 2 or 3 joints are joined together to make a stand.

Pulling the drill string out of or running the drill string into the hole is referred to as tripping. Drill pipe, HWDP and collars are typically tripped in stands to save time.