Casing & Tubing Running Rentals

Rental equipment for casing and tubing running

Running casing and tubing is the operation of lowering a string into the wellbore and making up each connection to the correct torque as it goes. It is deceptively critical work: a mis-torqued or cross-threaded connection, or a string that will not reach bottom, can compromise the well or cost significant rig time. The job depends on purpose-built running tools rather than the drilling handling tools, and those tools must be sized to the specific casing or tubing. Drillstrings rents the complete running spread, inspected and certified, so the string goes in the hole safely without buying tools that see occasional use.

The casing running spread

• Casing accessories — the running spread including elevators, spiders, stabbing guides and the fittings a casing job needs.
• Handling tools including casing power tongs to make up connections to the required torque and support the string on the rig floor.
• Downhole tools such as fill-up and circulating tools to fill the casing and circulate while running in the hole.
• Workstring tubing where tubing is being run rather than casing.

Making up connections right

The connection is where most casing-running problems originate, so torque control and correct stabbing are the priorities. Casing power tongs apply and monitor make-up torque, stabbing guides protect the pin as each joint is stabbed, and elevators and spiders take the load without damaging the pipe body. Filling and circulating as the string goes down manages surge and swab so the string reaches bottom cleanly. Our guides to rig-floor handling tools and how to select drilling tubulars cover running practice and matching tools to the string.

Sizing the running spread

Running tools are sized to a specific casing or tubing OD and weight range, so the spread is quoted against the string tally, not in the abstract. Elevators and spiders must match the casing OD and its slip range; power tongs must cover the required make-up torque for the connection; and stabbing guides must fit the pin. Casing runs from surface conductor down through intermediate and production strings, each a different size, so a multi-string program often needs more than one set of tools. Confirm the OD, weight and connection of every string before mobilizing.

Torque and running loads

Every connection has a specified make-up torque from the connection maker, and hitting that window — not over, not under — is what makes a sound casing string. Power tongs apply and record the torque so each joint is documented. On the running side, surge and swab pressures from lowering the string can fracture a weak formation or swab in a kick; filling the casing and circulating with a fill-up and circulating tool manages those pressures so the string reaches bottom cleanly. Match the running speed to the hole so surge stays within the formation’s limits.

Common pitfalls

• Wrong tool size — elevators or slips that do not match the casing OD damage pipe or slip.
• Torque out of window — under-torqued connections back off; over-torqued connections gall.
• Running too fast — surge pressure fractures the formation or the string will not reach bottom.
• No fill-up tool — an empty string collapses or swabs the well.

A short worked example

To run 9⅝” intermediate casing, a typical spread is a matched set of side-door or single-joint elevators and a spider sized to 9⅝”, casing power tongs set to the connection maker’s make-up torque window, a stabbing guide for the pin, and a fill-up and circulating tool to fill and circulate each joint as it goes in the hole. A following production string in 5½” needs its own correctly sized elevators, spider and tongs — the tools do not carry over between sizes. We size and stage each set to the string tally so nothing is missing on the rig floor.

Inspected, certified, delivered

Every running tool we rent is inspected to the applicable API and manufacturer standards, serialized for traceability, and available in sour-service configuration where the well requires it. Because running tools are size-specific and used briefly, they are usually rented rather than owned — see rent vs buy. From our network of yards we size and stage the running spread to your casing program. Tell us the casing or tubing sizes and the schedule and we’ll quote the running equipment.