Service 05 of 06
Top drive and VFD house service for drilling rigs, offshore and on land
I keep Tesco, Varco, ABB and Canrig top drives running, together with the VFD houses that feed them. For drilling contractors, operators and the yards and EPCs that work for them.
What I do
When the top drive stops, drilling stops
An AC top drive hangs in the derrick and runs on VFDs. The drives, the controls and the switchgear for the incoming supply sit in the VFD house below. When the top drive stops, drilling stops. The fault can be in the motor, the drive, the control system, the cabling up to the derrick or the incoming supply. Often it sits between them, and nobody can say where. That is usually where I am needed, so I take the whole chain from power to control.
The SCR side of a rig is a separate subject. Ross Hill and NOV SCR systems are covered under Frequency drives, power electronics & SCR systems.
- Drives and control panels in the VFD house
- Cabling up to the derrick
- Incoming supply and switchgear
- Offshore and land campaigns, on short notice
Top drive installations
When to call
Three situations where I get the call
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The rig is moving and the top drive has to work on arrival
A rig move means the top drive and VFD house are disconnected, transported and reconnected, and the system has to be proven before the first joint goes in the hole. I bring the installation back into service and test it before the drilling crew takes over.
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A fire in the VFD house
After a fire the damage is rarely limited to what is visibly burnt. Heat and smoke reach further than that. I rewire the panel, check what else has been affected and test the system before it goes back into service.
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A hard failure nobody can find
The top drive trips or will not run, the crew has swapped what they could swap and the fault is still there. I diagnose across the drive, the control system and the power supply, offshore or on land, and get it back to drilling.
In the field
Top drive work, without the names
Top drive rescues on land rigs and re-commissioning after rig moves are part of the work. Client and rig names stay confidential.
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Top drive project to follow
A recent top drive or VFD house job, without client or rig names. To be supplied by Jeroen.
Services
Other services
01
PLC programming & automation
Siemens Step7 and TIA Portal, Allen Bradley, WAGO, Praxis. Troubleshooting legacy logic, rewriting code blocks, commissioning new platforms.
Read more02
Frequency drives, power electronics & SCR systems
VFD configuration, fault diagnosis and field repairs on Siemens, ABB, Unico and IDM. Ross Hill and NOV SCR systems on drilling rigs.
Read more03
Commissioning & servicing
Electrical, mechanical and hydraulic commissioning of new installations and revamps. ATEX commissioning, structured handovers, documented test protocols.
Read more04
EMS & PMS integration
Propulsion, energy management and process control, integrated over Modbus, Profibus, NMEA, J1939 and Ethernet, so the bridge sees what the engine room is doing.
Read more06
Battery-powered & hybrid vessels
Charging systems, energy management and propulsion control on battery-electric and hybrid ferries, water buses and crew transfer platforms.
Read more01 to 06
All services
The six areas I work in, and where they overlap.
See the overview
System down?
Call. The phone is faster than the form.
+31 6 838 507 23I answer personally and can be on site at short notice.
Have this at hand when you call
- Make and model of the top drive and the drives in the VFD house
- Where the rig is now, and where it will be
- What happened, and when it has to drill again
- Who I can reach on the rig
Talk to me about your top drive
Tell me the make of the top drive, where the rig is and when it has to drill again. I respond personally, usually within one working day.