Intertek: New Well Perforation Safety Tech

Intertek  launched an upgraded stray voltage monitoring system, aiding heightened protection for oil and gas industry workers.

The PM305 stray voltage monitoring system, an upgraded version of Intertek’s PM205 model, offers updated critical well perforation protection by monitoring stray potentials of up to one volt, ground integrity and stray current. The PM305 also features increased accuracy for monitoring radio frequencies and stores the dates and times of events and alarms.

Safeguarding well perforation teams from the risk of serious and potentially life-changing injuries, the PM305 monitors and alarms for hazards that can cause perforation guns to misfire. The new model has two potential ranges that cause alarms to trigger depending upon the perforation gun used.  

Tom Gooderham, Instrumentation Manager at Intertek Production and Integrity Assurance, said: “Stray signals can occur at any time and without warning, everyday objects such as an am/fm radio, ham radio, walkie-talkie, mobile phone or passing aeroplane can cause interference. While sub-surface misfire can be costly, a surface detonation poses a real danger to the perforation team. They want to have confidence and peace of mind to carry out their jobs safely. Monitoring changes in radio frequency alerts engineers to any potential hazards. The PM305 system also allows for data capture, recording all events and alarms which can then be downloaded for audit purposes."

Common causes of misfire are poor grounding between the wireline truck or logging area, wellhead and other metallic structures, stray voltage on pickup cables and high-energy radio frequency interference caused by networks and transmitters.

The PM305 incorporates new features for radio frequency detection. Using an accompanying antenna, it is able to monitor signals as small as one nano watt. In addition, it identifies the band of frequency that has created the stray signal. This new method of detection aids the perforation team in identifying the device that has created the potential hazard.

Continuously measuring the voltage between the two measurement terminals, ground resistance and radio frequency, the PM305 indicates an audio and visual alarm if any of these conditions exceed preset thresholds. This provides operators with the confidence that safe working practices outlined by the American Petroleum Institute, Occupational Health and Safety Code and the Society of Petroleum Engineers are being met.