Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

Olivier Jean-Marc Claude Mageren

Ludovic Delmar

Khac Nguyen Che

Eric Fannes

Loren Rutherford

Described herein is a cutting apparatus () for allowing visual inspection of a core sample in an inner tube at a drilling site after the inner tube has been removed from a coring tube and prior to it being transported to a laboratory. The cutting apparatus () comprises a support track ()) on which is mounted a tube support member (), a cutter wagon () and a drive arrangement (). The apparatus () provides relative movement between an inner tube () and the cutter wagon () to allow a section of the inner tube () to be removed along its entire length for visual inspection. The drive arrangement () provides the relative movement between the inner tube () and the cutter wagon ().

Cutting apparatus

There is disclosed herein drilling apparatus, in particular for use in the field of oil prospecting, comprising: a first tubular member (); a second tubular member () mounted at least partly within the first tubular member so as to be reciprocally free in rotation with respect to the first tubular member about an axis (); and a drill bit () operatively connected to one of the first or second tubular members so as to be rotated in response to the one tubular member being turned in order to effect drilling, characterized in that: the drilling apparatus further comprises a restoring member () for applying a forces between the first tubular member and the second tubular member at least in respective first axial directions in response to relative displacement of the first tubular member and the second tubular member in the respective opposite axial directions. Also provided are a tubular assembly and a method of assembling tubular members.

Core barrel and related drilling apparatus and method

Described herein is a 'cross-over' connector that can be used with core barrel outer tubes to prevent damage and destruction when they are connected to one another by automated equipment on a rig floor, for example, automated rig-floor torque wrenches. Standard core barrel outer tubes having a pin connector and a box connector are modified by adding 'cross-over' sub elements to the pin and box connectors to increase their effective strength. The sub elements include portions which engage respective ones of the pin and box connections. The sub elements are designed to be the contact points for the automated equipment, so that it they are damaged, they can readily be replaced at a lower cost when compared to the scrapping and replacement of the core barrel outer tubes themselves.

Improvements relating to core barrel outer tubes

Disclosed is a core drill comprising: an external pipe; a coring bit to be rotated by rotation of the external pipe to drill a coring hole and form a core having a core diameter; and an internal coring pipe (), mounted within the external pipe, to receive a core formed by the coring bit, the internal coring pipe comprising: an internal tubular wall () defining a cavity () having a diameter substantially the same as the core diameter within which to retain a core formed by the coring bit, one or more viewing openings () being formed through the internal tubular wall; and an external tubular wall (), in which the internal tubular wall is housed coaxially, the internal and external tubular walls being connected to each other so as to form a single-piece double-walled pipe.

Growing community of inventors

Brussels, Belgium

Olivier Jean-Marc Claude Mageren