http://www.righands.com/product/detail/t500-xd-rig-17 Schramm, the West Chester, PA-based rig builder known for high-end mobile, land based hydraulic drill rigs has opened a new chapter in the company's 100+ year history. On May 7, Alpha Hunter Drilling, LLC, announced that it had taken delivery of the first of Schramm's new T500XD robotic drilling rigs rated 500,000 lb. hook load.
Instead of the usual 6-man crew, the unit requires only 3 operators; a driller and a pipe-handler (who are stationed inside the air-conditioned control room) and single floorhand. Not only does the rig demand less manpower, when a significant relocation is planned, the rig's unique, patented, 102-foot high telescoping mast and other features allow the move to be made using only nine trucks instead of 18 or 20.
Pad drilling is the wave of the future in shale plays and the T500XD is designed to maximize flexibility. In contrast to traditional drilling rigs that are mounted on rails and only allow movement from left to right or front to back, this rig has a walking subbase which lifts the entire rig six inches off the ground and that lets the rig to turn and rotate a full 360 degrees
The rig is said to "walk and talk" because it can move under its own power at 30 feet per hour and can "talk" via satellite communications to let engineers at headquarters to monitor operations in real time.
The T500XD uses the "Load Safe XD" automated pipe handling system, that racks drill pipe horizontally for easy loading and offloading, and that means vastly improved operator safety. It can handle up to 24 inch diameter Range III tubulars weighing up to 10,000 lbs!
The T500XD can drill up to a total depth of approximately 19,000 feet, offers best-in-class 35,000 foot-pounds of top head torque, third party directional steering interface and 80,000 pounds of hydraulic pulldown capacity.
