D&L Oil Tools designs new anchor in response to demand of smart well technology

Trilobite Anchors have a unique design with three heat-treated steel alloy slips which not only maximise holding in both tension and compression, but also with strategic component spacing to allow increased annular flow and capillary tube bypassing. This allows for operators to increase space for gas while running capillary lines, all without compromising tubing size in the desired 5½" x 2?" configuration.

"This tool is revolutionary," said Dan Eslicker, D&L Oil Tools COO. "We received input from clients about the need to have more space around tubing anchors without reducing the ID of the tubing. The trilobite line of tubing anchors makes this available with no compromises."

The newly-designed anchor also serves as a "catcher," meaning it does not require upward tension to remain in place.

The original design and its patent are the brainchild of D&L engineer Heath Bringham. Heath says he was inspired after a simple conversation with a client at a conference about the need for this extra space around anchors.

"I literally went back to my hotel, got out a notebook and started sketching this idea that would become the Trilobite design," said Heath. "It is amazing to look back on those sketches and see just how close the finish product is to that initial idea. It has truly been a D&L team effort to turn that sketch into a product now in the field."

D&L has received great feedback from clients who say the tool has not only increased the capability of running multiple capillary and data lines, but has actually lead to increased gas production due to the multiplied space for gas to travel upward toward the wellhead.

Heath says the name Trilobite was inspired by the combination of "tri" for the three slips, "lob" for it being a lobe tool, and bite from both it being a way for things to "bypass" as well as the tool's literal "bite" which keeps it in place. It was in subsequent research that Heath discovered Trilobite is also the name of a fossil group of extinct marine arachnomorph arthropods.

"I thought it was really cool that the name not only reflected how the tool works, but also had a wink to archeology", said Heath.

The Trilobite Hydro and Trilobite Quarter-Turn Anchor designs were filed with the United States Provisional Patent Office in June of 2017 and will undergo a full patent process over the course of the next year.

"The fact that our in-house personnel continue to innovate and meet client needs speaks to the core of what has made D&L Oil Tools successful for the past 27 years," said Eslicker. "We view clients as strategic partners rather than customers."

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/product-news/07122017/dl-oil-tools-designs-new-anchor-in-response-to-demand-of-smart-well-technology/