With ZERO downtime, Torque Turn by VAM® Field Service has reached one million feet in the ground
VAM® Field Service (VFS) has now monitored the torque turn of one million feet of OCTG casing with zero safety incidents or downtime for the rig over the past two years. The team’s exceptional performance sets a new standard for operational excellence in the fast-paced oil and gas industry, where safety and efficiency are paramount.
This journey began with a valued customer in the Haynesville basin in 2022. But we have now grown to cover jobs in all major Shale basins. Our service even contributed to the record-breaking four-mile lateral in the Eagle Ford basin.
The VFS team has always strived to find innovative ways to gain efficiency and reliability. This is how VFS reps realized they could bring more cost savings and safety measures to the rig by embarking on a full torque turn offer. Now, the VFS reps have the sensory equipment and state-of-the-art ConTech computers to graph the connection make-up in the torque vs. turn chart. If the chart shows an abnormality (for example, the torque increases on a turn too soon), it indicates a bad make-up. The VFS would then alert the operator to break out the connection, inspect it, and retry. This is essential because if the pipe make-up is flawed, it could cause leaks, leading to environmental and safety concerns.
Supported by an API Q2-certificated organization, the group combines two separate tasks into one technician. We reduce the personnel on board, which can prevent accidents and bring cost savings to the end users. Plus, when we combine VFS with Smart Run, we can now have one rep do running supervision and torque-turn because the joints are already doped and inspected before running.
Special thanks to Texas International Oilfield Tools for allowing our team to perfect the art of rigging up in their Houston facility. Countless hours of rehearsing and troubleshooting allowed our team to execute every single job without any issues or downtime.
As the VAM Field service team celebrates this significant milestone, they also leverage the lessons learned during this project for upcoming jobs. Continuous improvement is a core value for the team, and they are committed to refining their processes even further.
