March 2021 Vol. 76 No. 3

Features

First Look: Sharewell Introduces Gyroscopic Tool for Smaller Pipes, Bores

By Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor

Sharewell HDD has introduced the state-of-the-art Opti-Trac Gyro navigation system for horizontal directional drilling (HDD). 

“The Opti-Trac tool uses a fiber optic north-seeking gyroscopic system to provide the location of the drill bit to the surveyor,” said Matthew Patterson, Sharewell HDD president. “The Opti-Trac Gyro is a versatile tool that can be run on jobs utilizing smaller pipe for smaller bores and is easy to set up at the job site.” 

The system is ideal for surveying in densely populated urban areas and where use of secondary magnetic tracking is prohibitive. Opti-Trac is available directly from Sharewell HDD, as part of its guidance services offered to customers. 

Patterson said Opti-Trac is designed to be compatible with standard bottom-hole assemblies for pilot holes of 57/8 inches in diameter and larger. In some situations, it may be possible to specially engineer the tools for projects with pilot hole diameters down to 3.9 inches. 

The Opti-Trac Gyro is integrated with a ShareTracker system to provide secondary position confirmation. It is reliable even in high-vibration environments. Benefits include: 

  • Gyro sensor is unaffected by magnetic interference
  • Runs in standard collars with standard bottom-hole assemblies
  • Easy to set up and transport; ships in hard cases for protection

Survey precision is plus/minus 0.10 degrees inclination, plus/minus 0.15 degrees azimuth, and plus/minus 0.10 degrees tool face position. 

Outside diameter of the tool is 2.125 inches. It is 16 feet long with pressure, 14.75 feet long without pressure. Weight is 104 pounds with pressure modules, 94 pounds without. Pressure rating is 12,000 psi (690 bar). Tool communication is bi-directional with a survey recoding time of 10 to 20 seconds. Standard wet connection is 13/16 inch, 12 teeth per inch female. 

Based in Houston, Sharewell HDD is a leading supplier of downhole drilling tools, guidance systems and services  
for the HDD industry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Sharewell HDD Services, (281) 288-2560, sharewellhdd.com 

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