LAKE SEDIMENT, IMPACT AND PERMAFROST DRILLING

Dennis L. NielsonDoug Schnurrenberger

David DinterDOSECC

Salt Lake City, UT

Volker NethEBA Consultants

Calgary

TOPICS• Agreements/Contracts• Equipment Preparation

– CS-14 Drill Rig– Fabrication of Drilling Platform– Lake Coring Tools– Ancillary Tools and Equipment

• Rig Testing• Ice Preparation• Lake E Drilling Plan• Safety/Emergency protocols

DOSECC’sAGREEMENTS/CONTRACTS

• NEISRI/FEB in Magadan• FEGI/FEB in Vladivostok• Chaun Min Geological Company in Pevek• EBA Engineering Consultants in Calgary• Dialog Freight International, Moscow• Korpus, Vladivostok

CS-14 Drill Rig in Nevada

DRILLING PLATFORM

• 3rd Redesign for Containerization• Purposes: Thermal Isolation and Weight

Distribution of Drilling System; Protection of Personnel/Equipment from Weather

• 8 Separate Skids for Transport• Fabrication complete• Forced air heating• Wind Walls, Roof and Drill Shroud

Science Side

Drilling Side

Item NumberUnit

WeightTotal

Weight Skid 1 Skid 2 Skid 3 Skid 4 Skid 5 Skid 6 Skid 7 Skid 8 SumDrill Rig 1 15,500 15,500 7,750 7,750 15,500Skids 8 7,700 61,600 7,700 7,700 7,700 7,700 7,700 7,700 7,700 7,700 61,600Spacers 4 200 800 200 200 200 200 800Tandemlocs 52 25 1,300 163 163 163 163 163 163 163 163 1,300Stairs 2 280 560 560Mud Tank 1 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500Mud in tank 1 6,242 6,242 6242 6,242Hold Tanks 3 900 2,700 900 900 900 2,700Mud in Holding Tanks 3 4,070 12,210 4,070 4,070 4,070 12,210Mud Lines 1 1,000 1,000 250 250 250 250 1,000Hopper 1 480 480 480 480Pipe Rack 1 4,000 4,000 2,000 2,000 4,000Bean Pump 1 600 600 600 600Tools, wireline 1 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000Core Table 1 250 250 125 125 250Work Table 1 200 200 200 200Desks 2 100 200 100 100 200Toilet 1 250 250 250 250Casing Hanger 1 200 200 100 100 200Tool Crib 1 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500Hand Tools 1 750 750 750 750Personnel 7 175 1,225 700 350 175 1,225Gen Set 1 200 200 0Walls 194 38 7,275 1,538 413 413 1,613 1,313 488 488 1,013 7,275Roof 934 4 3,269 409 409 409 409 409 409 409 409 3,269Canopy 1,200 1 900 450 450 900Heater 1 500 500 0On-site core storage 1 250 250 250 250On-site Mud Storage 100 80 8,000 4,000 4,000 8,000On-site Diesel storage 1 250 250 250 250Riser (m) 190 79 14,953 14,953 14,953HWT rod (m) 800 37 29,920 29,920 29,920Fuel Tank 1 1,500 1,500 0Totals 185,084 15,129 12,084 11,009 16,054 68,054 21,259 22,734 16,004 182,884

Total Platform weight with no mud 156,432

Total Platform weight with mud 182,884

Platform Component Weights

Coring Tools

ICE TEST• CANDIDATES

– Lake Champlain, VT - ice too thin– Fish Lake, UT - ice too thin– Lake Harding, AK - too expensive– Yellowknife, NWT - expensive– >>SLC DOSECC yard & Manitoba Site Visit

• Evaluation & Recommendations– Shroud Tests @ CRREL– Alex Pyne Report

• Recommendations Implemented

Manitoba Site Visit

• Flin Flon, Manitoba• Met with Pump Supplier & Operator• Visit to Coring Program on Ice

– Thickened Pad– Ice Road– Operating Coring Rig

ICE ROAD and DRILL PAD

• Drilling Equipment Weight: 83,129 Kg• Min. Requirement: 1.3-1.5 m Good Quality Ice

– Clear Snow– Artificial Flooding

• Ice Pad Radius: 50 m• Load Duration: 20 days• Overpull of 18,200 Kg for 2 Hours

Ice Road Requiredto Connect Drill Sites to Camp at the

D3

D1= 7 kmD2 = 4.5 km

Monitoring and Clearing of Ice Road Required

Ancillary Tools and Equipment

• Hand and power tools - purchase in Russia?• Rig spare parts

• What to bring?• Back-up plan to bring in spares in event of

breakdown• Training for drillers on CAT engine repair

Lake E Drill SitesWater Sed (m) Bx/Pf # Holes Total S

D1 173 367 100 2 734

D2 164 426 100 2 852

D3 200

Core 400 1586

LAKE DRILLING

• Drilling from ice• Pad and Road Construction – Winter 2009• Shipping in Summer 2008 through

Vladivostok (Containerized)• Drilling System Becomes Property of Far

East Geological Institute, FEB RAS• Priorities for Logging vs. coring - hole not

open?

LAKE DRILLING SCHEDULE

• Drilling Days Related to Time on Ice• Transit Timing from Pevek Uncertain• Start Drilling as Early as Possible

– Ice management: Clear Snow and Flood• Drilling Complete by 1 May

Drilling PlanCasingHang 6-5/8” casing above lake floor (1.5m)

PQ String - Lake SedimentsDrill to 475m with HWT core rodLake coring tools (HPC -> EXN -> ALN) to bottom of hole

HQ String - Lake Sediments and Impact RocksDrill to 475m+ (800 m maximum) with HMCQ core rod and HQ3 core barrel (lake sediment core in liners and impact rocks in core boxes) Mud as needed.

PERMAFROST CORING

• Site D3• Drilling Subcontract to Chuan Mining Co.• Late 2008• 200 m Core• Monitoring by AWI and AARI• Cost: $150,000 (drilling only)

IMPACT DRILLING

• 200 m of Core Expected– D1b & D2b

• Utilize Lake Drilling Tools with Diamond Coring Tools (HMCQ) as Backup.

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS• Two Drilling Pad Stability Studies by EBA• Review by CRREL• EBA Currently Working on Ice

Management/Safety Plan– Ice Road Construction– Air Strip Construction– Monitoring (GPR, Monitoring Holes, Strain

Measurements)– Safety Plan & Ice Manager

Safety Plan• DOSECC Drilling Environmental Protection and

Safety Panel Review• DOSECC HSE Manual• Lake E Safety Manual

– Ice safety (EBA)– Drilling safety (DOSECC)– Emergency evacuation (PIs)

• Guide to Participants

Drilling Safety - Lake E Specific

• Section on Helicopter Safety (class)• Section on Cold Weather Working

– Wind Chill– Time Limits– Proper Clothing

• Section on Cold Weather First Aid– Frost Bite– Hypothermia

Drill Platform Safety• No Smoking• Heated, enclosed platform• Personnel Safety Equipment required• Buddy system required• MSDS sheets for all chemicals on-site• Safe and “non-safe” zones for science crew• Emergency shelter at ice pad

– Food, water, sleeping bags, heaters• Emergency vehicle on site at all times• Safety Plan Posted (evacuation)• Evacuation Practiced weekly• Tool box safety meeting daily• Ice safety continuously monitored

Medical Protocols• Treatment at Rig if Possible

– Large First Aid Kit– All Platform Crew required to have First Aid Refresher

• Treatment at Camp Clinic if Possible– Stocked Clinic– Doctor on site

• Evacuation (Helicopter) to Pevek or Anadyr– Medical Flights Have Priority

• Treatment in Russia if Possible• Evacuation to Japan/Korea/U.S. if Necessary

– Personnel required to have Medical Evacuation Insurance

Drilling and Safety Issues

• Plans for white-outs and no crew change– Excess fuel storage on-site (heaters can run for

several days)– Emergency shelter on-site (cold weather gear

and food)• Plans for emergency evacuation (accident)

– Pull into casing and await shift change• Currently only one vehicle for crew transport

– Safety panel recommended two vehicles on site at all times

Bad Weather Protocol

• If shift change possible– Continue drilling - science team maintains

constant contact with base camp• If shift change not possible - decision to trip made

by drilling supervisor– Trip rods into casing– Run pump on low (to prevent freezing)

Ice Unsafe Protocol - Ice Safety Manager• If imminent collapse of platform (0-12 hrs)

– Non-essential personnel evacuate to Emergency Shelter– Radio base camp of situation– Drill crew secure rig and platform - evacuate to Emergency Shelter– All personnel evacuate to base camp

• If danger imminent(>12 hrs)– Non-essential personnel evacuate to Emergency Shelter– Radio base camp of situation and initiate evacuation to base camp– Drill crew drain fluids, shut down rig– Lower shroud and remove roof– Disconnect wall panels and skid tandems– If possible - tow skids to shore according to skid recovery priority– Drill crew evacuates to base camp per Ice Safety Manager

instructions

Accident Protocol - Drillsite

•Science team gives emergency attention to victim (crews have first aid training)•Radio base camp - call transport vehicle (unless emergency vehicle present)

–Depending on severity of injury, call Pevek or Anadyr for emergency evacuation•Radio camp medic

•Drill crew retrieves last core and rotates slowly with low pump pressure

–In case of injury to driller, crews are able to shut down rig safely (rig shutdown drill will take place prior to drilling)

•Trip rods into casing, drain fluids•Transport to base camp for stabilization•Two persons from drill crew remain behind to tend to rig•Tend to injuries in camp or transport to Pevekand implementation of emergency evacuation procedures.

•Rotate slowly on low pump pressure•Evacuate injured individual•Continue coring if possible or await additional crew

Severe Injury Minor Injury

Daily Supplies

• Fuel 90 gals• Drilling mud & additives 15 sacks gel, 5 buckets

additives• Spare parts/supplies Grease, filters, bits, etc.• Core liner & Caps 50m• Drill rod? 50m• Drill crew (4-5 persons); • Science Team (3-4 persons)

NEXT STEPS

• Shipping from Salt Lake latest end of June for arrival in Pevek early September– Customs Paperwork– Purchases in Russia

• TAC Application from FEB• Logistics/Inspection trips