Samoco Oil Tools introduces new one-trip BOP testing tool

HOUSTON -- Samoco Oil Tools has launched OneTrip to greatly reduce the time and costs associated with mandatory BOP testing. The company collaborated with Shell Offshore to engineer, manufacture and test the new tool.

Seven years ago, federally-mandated testing protocol required operators to test the integrity of their BOP equipment every 14 days. While operators have complied for years, no one in the industry has been able to complete the test in one trip, until now.

“These stricter protocols are essential to a rig’s safety and ultimate success as testing detects potential problems that can endanger rig workers and the environment,” said MJ Hellail, CEO of Samoco Oil Tools. “BOP testing is also very expensive for energy producers. Operators must interrupt rig operations for 36 to 72 hours each time they perform BOP testing. That is where we identified the need for a solution like OneTrip.”

Traditional methods perform three separately staged subtests of the BOP’s large RAM, small RAM, and sheering capabilities which require testing tools to run multiple “trips” along the BOP stack. OneTrip’s proprietary design enables the testing of all three during a single trip down the hole.

OneTrip’s additional BOP testing capabilities include:

A low torque, high-pressure seal design to ensure a resilient downhole seal that can withstand harsh subsea conditions.

Ability to withstand 25,000 psi test and sustain a load up to 1.2M lb.

Technology that holds OneTrip downhole until BOP test results are confirmed satisfactory

“OneTrip is proven to provide significant savings to drilling operators by cutting BOP testing time in half,” said Hellail. “Plus, it has a universal design that performs with any BOP configuration. We can customize the tool’s dimensions to match a rig’s BOP stack specifications."