Offshore operations come with many intricacies. Ensuring workers are safe, assets are intact, and projects are on track is the foundation of a productive rig. While we understand what makes operations successful, the drilling environment presents a number of challenges. One significant bi-product from drilling activity is fine metallic debris, also known as swarf. These tiny shards of sharp metal can be detrimental to worker safety and asset integrity for operators.
Metal debris is a major problem when not dealt with effectively. Not only are these tiny shards of metal a safety hazard, but they can cause real damage to high-value rig equipment. Particularly downhole directional drilling tools. This can result in considerable NPT with substantial additional costs for the operator. Overall, metal particles are a total nuisance for workers and our clients.
Craig Martin, Head of Business Development at ROMAR, has hands-on experience of dealing with swarf in his days as a young engineer working on rigs. Sharing the importance of effectively removing this debris with safety in mind, Craig shares the reality of this problem and how ROMAR has developed a solution to this challenge.
“In my first industry position, one of my roles was to assist removing this debris from the drilling mud. At that time, the only way to do this was using old ‘block’ type magnets. Not only was this time-consuming, but dangerous. Trapped finger injuries are always a risk when trying to winch heavy bar magnets out of rig flow lines. We would then have to manually scrape bar the magnets clean, with the constant risk of cuts and lacerations from sharp metal shards.”
“When I first joined the ROMAR team in 2015, I was impressed by its innovative product range that deals directly with the challenges I’d faced earlier in my career. Greatly increasing operator safety and extending the life of equipment.
“Our ditch magnet systems provide a complete magnetic barrier across the entire width and depth of the fluid path. Each EZ-Clean MAGNOROD weights around 3.5 Kg and can be picked up with minimum effort by the operator. Any metal attracted is easily removed using the handle. No scraping or human contact with the debris is required. This greatly enhances both performance and the operator’s safety; see for yourself in the clip below!
“Worryingly, traditional block style magnets are still used to this day, putting workers and equipment in harm’s way. I’m proud to play a part in an organisation helping to overcome the difficulties of oilfield operations while protecting personnel in the field.”
Visit our dedicated ditch magnets website page to find out how ROMAR’s technology can protect your equipment and workforce.