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Underground

Development of a Simple Rotary Steerable System for Underground Inseam Drilling

Underground » Ventilation, Gas Drainage and Monitoring

Published: October 20Project Number: C28022

Get ReportAuthor: Ian Gray, Andrew MacTaggart | Sigra

The purpose of this project was to complete the design and testing of a simple rotary steerable system to replace the downhole mud motor systems used in current underground inseam drilling programs. Rotary steerable systems are the state-of-the-art in the oil and gas industry for drilling longer and straighter holes, faster. The systems currently available unfortunately do not accommodate holes diameters smaller than 150mm and come with rental costs well beyond the budgets of an underground inseam drilling program. The need for a rotary steerable system in the coal industry clearly exists and Sigra has set out to provide one which meets the budgetary and legislative requirements of the industry.

The benefits of a rotary steering system are the rotation of the drill string to prevent the build up of a cuttings bed and the reduction in friction to forward movement of the drill string. In addition this genre of tools should also be able to drill straight when required as opposed to continually having some measure of trajectory change.

The objectives of this project were to complete the rotary steering system design which It included umerical modelling, engineering design and drafting. A working prototype was built, by Sigra in Brisbane, tests were conducted to prove and refine the design.

This report includes a comprehensive state-of-the-art review, an overview of current underground inseam drilling practices and a review of all the work and findings carried out through the course of this project.

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