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http://www.4-traders.com/AUSDRILL-LIMITED-6500484/news/Walking-talking-drilling-rigs-aim-to-modernize-fracking-18272860/

Walking, 'talking' drilling rigs aim to modernize fracking
04/15/2014 | 06:45am US/Eastern
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The backbreaking life of a roughneck, the iconic worker bees of oilfield drilling rigs, is getting a little easier.

Schramm Inc, which built the drilling rig that four years ago helped rescue 33 trapped Chilean copper miners, has designed a 500,000-pound rig for the oil and natural gas industry that can walk, rotate 360 degrees, be operated with a remote control, and load pipe automatically.

The T500XD rig's futuristic control room has touchscreens and joysticks, rather than the valves and dials on conventional rigs, appealing to a generation of oilfield workers raised on video games. More than 200 sensors monitor pneumatics, oil flow and myriad other processes, "talking" via satellite or Wi-Fi to Schramm's Pennsylvania headquarters and signaling any problems.

Riding the global boom in fracking - the practice of injecting sand, water and chemicals deep underground to release oil and gas - Schramm's latest rig, although pricey, allows producers to sharply reduce labor costs, the company says.

It's all part of what Schramm, controlled by private equity firm GenNx360, says is an attempt to make the process of drilling a new well safer and faster.

So far, selling the rig to the slow-to-change drilling industry has been a challenge, and the risk of technological theft looms over much of the energy sector. But executives say they are pushing forward regardless, and some analysts say the company could be an appealing acquisition target, especially if its new rigs start selling.

"We designed the rig to have lots of automation and to be simpler to run," said Ed Breiner, Schramm's president. "That means less fatigue and fewer injuries for oilfield workers," who often have 12-hour shifts.

SELF-ASSEMBLING RIGS

Conventional oilfield drilling rigs must be assembled in pieces, often requiring a crane. To ship parts to an oil well, it typically takes 40 truck loads of supplies. Time is wasted building and breaking down such rigs, especially if the next well to be drilled is only a few hundred feet away.

Schramm's T500XD ships in roughly half the amount of loads, can assemble itself, and walk to the next well. At 30 feet per hour, the speed is not exactly a jackrabbit's pace, but it reaches a new well in a quarter of the time and is faster than the few other rigs on the market that can walk.

On a conventional rig, a roughneck needs to stand on top of the derrick tower to guide and move oil pipe into a well. Schramm's rig lets the operator sit in the control room and, with joystick controls, guide an automated arm to pick up and load pipe.

"Pipe handling is probably the biggest area of injury in the oil industry," Breiner said. "This rig removes that risk."