“Safe Reeve” Drill Line End Connector (2.125 inch) – Unboxing

Are you a driller? A maintenance supervisor on a drill rig? Responsible for the HSE policies over a drill rig or fleet of rigs? If so, you may have experience with the change out of an old drill line for a new drill line. Have you seen or used the Gulf Copper patented “Safe Reeve” Drill Line End Connector? If you haven’t, you may want to have a look at this unboxing, this is a great tool to safely reeve new drill line on to the crown block and traveling block.

Depending on the drilling activity on the rig and the speed and depth of drilling, a drill line is ready for changing out every 8-12 months. A drill line has a finite of number of “ton-miles” that it is capable of raising and lowering the drill string before it is considered sufficiently worn and requires replacement with a new drill line. A process called “slip and cut” is carried out after a certain frequency of ton miles, until the drill line is close to the bitter end. Once the drill line is used up, it must be replaced.

When it is time for replacement, the old drill line must be removed from the draw works drum and come un-reeved from the traveling block/crown block, then the new drill line must be reeved onto the traveling block/crown block and wrapped sufficient wraps on to the draw works. The easiest way to do this is to connect the end of the old drill line to the end of the new drill line. Then as you unreeve the old drill line, you will be reeving on the new drill line. When this is being done, the connection between the two drill lines is important, and potentially the “weak link” of the operation. Drill lines can weigh from 4.0 pounds per foot to over 8 pounds per foot. The height of the crown block can be 200 feet in the air, therefore the weight of drill line falling from the crown block can be 1,600 pounds on larger rigs. It is not hard to imagine the damage this drill line could do if it separates at the crown block and falls to the drill floor when changing out old for new drill line. There have been a number of serious incidents recorded, in a few cases there have been fatalities. A safe connection between these two drill lines is critical to avoid injury. If a drill line separates during the reeving process, other than potential injuries, there will be significant non productive time (NPT) incurred for the additional time to clean up the drill line on the drill floor, and reeve the new drill line by hand with a messenger cable.

Other than scheduled drill line change outs, there are occasional maintenance on the crown block or traveling block that requires removal of the drill line. In this case, to replace the drill line, a 5/8″ messenger line is reeved through the crown block and traveling block, the messenger line is then connected to the larger drill line, which will be between 1-1/2″ to 2-1/8″ inch depending on the rating of the drill string and derrick. The full line of different sizes of connecters range from 1-1/2″, 1-5/8″,  1-3/4″, 2″, and 2-1/8″.  There is also a 5/8″ inch messenger line connector for reeving the string after a complete removal of the drill line.

The  “Safe Reeve” Drill Line End Connector is a proven product providing the most common accepted connection for a drill line reeving operation.  For risk avoidance of incidents that could potentially result in injury and/or Non Productive Time (NPT) occurring as a result of separation between the connections, use the Safe Reeve for all of your drill line changeouts. For details please send email to: sales@gulfcopper.com; jsalinas@gulfcopper.com and/or cjohnson@gulfcopper.com.

The International Association of Drilling Contractors has a recommendation on “slipping” drill line, here is the link: http://www.iadc.org/safety-meeting-topics/cutting-off-a-drilling-line-safe-procedures/ .

Founded in 1948, Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Inc., an employee-owned company, providing shiprepair services and refurbishment of marine vessels and rig repair of offshore drilling rigs as well as fabrication services. The company serves the marine, offshore, subsea and alternative energy markets. The company operates strategically located shipyards, dry-docks and fabrication facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Gulf Copper serves the oil and gas, drilling, and marine transportation markets in addition to the United States government.
GC Energy Services (GCES) is a division of Gulf Copper. GCES provides global project support with structural welding, high pressure and low pressure pipe welding, SS welding and passivation, electrical services, EX Inspections, scaffolding, non-destructive testing services (NDT), quality assurance services, inspections, and rope access technicians. GCES has offices in the USA and Mexico.

Be safe in all that you do,
Leonard Hale PMP