Hoisting & Pipe Handling

Hoisting & Pipe Handling is the derrick and drill floor equipment that carries, turns and moves the drill string. It runs from the derrick and drawworks down through the blocks, top drive and elevators, and includes heave compensation on floating rigs and the machines that rack stands and make up connections.

On a used unit in this group, three things decide its value. They are the rating it still holds, the inspection record behind that rating, and how well it fits your structure and controls.

The load path and the handling chain

Two systems share the drill floor. The hoisting system carries string weight from the elevator up to the crown and back down the derrick legs. The handling system moves tubulars between the catwalk, the setback and well centre, and makes up or breaks out each connection. On most offshore rigs one drilling control system runs both, with zone management to stop machines colliding.

The hoisting load path, from the structure down:

Derricks and masts carry the hook load, the racked setback and the wind and motion loads.
Drawworks wind the fast line and set hoisting speed and maximum line pull.
Crown blocks and traveling blocks turn fast line pull into hook load through the reeving.
Drilling line and rigging covers the wire rope, the deadline anchor and the lifting gear around the derrick.
Motion compensators isolate the string from vessel heave on semisubmersibles and drillships.
Top drives rotate the string and carry it through the hoisting path.
Elevators and slips grip pipe at the hook and at the rotary.

The handling chain at the floor:

Rotary tables seat the master bushing and slips at well centre.
Pipe racking systems move stands between well centre, the mousehole and the fingerboards.
Iron roughnecks and tongs spin and torque tool joints.

How the sub-categories differ

Equipment	Design standard	What decides fit
Derricks and masts	API 4F	Hook load with stated lines, setback, wind and motion criteria
Drawworks	API 7K components	Line pull, drum grooving, drive and brake type
Blocks, hooks, top drives, elevators, links, compensators, deadline anchors	API 8C	Rated load in short tons, connection to the next item
Rotary tables, slips, spiders, manual tongs	API 7K	Opening or size range, static load rating
Drilling line	API 9A	Diameter, grade, construction
Rackers and iron roughnecks	OEM design with class approval	Rails, reach, tubular range, control interface

Rate the load path as one system

Hook load capacity is the fast line pull times the number of lines, reduced by reeving efficiency. Each sheave loses a little to friction, so efficiency drops as you add lines. API RP 9B gives the efficiency factors.

Your usable rating is the lowest of these:

The derrick's static hook load for the number of lines strung.
The crown block and traveling block ratings.
The top drive, hook or block-to-top-drive adapter rating.
The elevator links and elevator.
The drilling line, whose minimum breaking force divided by the API RP 9B design factor caps the fast line tension.

API 8C ratings already include a design safety factor on yield strength. It is 3.0 up to 150 short tons (1,334 kN) and falls to 2.25 at 500 short tons (4,448 kN) and above. API 8C also defines a proof load test at manufacture, as supplementary requirement SR1, so ask whether the item had one. A used item keeps that rating only while its inspection and repair history supports it.

Standards and class across the group

API RP 8B governs inspection, maintenance, repair and remanufacture of 8C hoisting equipment in service. API RP 4G does the same for derricks and masts. Both use four inspection categories.

Category I is observation during operation.
Category II adds a closer look for corrosion, deformation, loose parts and visible cracks.
Category III adds non-destructive testing (NDT) of exposed critical areas, and may need some disassembly.
Category IV adds disassembly far enough to run NDT on all primary load-carrying parts.

A used item with no recent Category III or IV record should be treated as uninspected. On a classed rig, drilling plant falls under DNV-OS-E101 (DRILL notation) or the ABS Guide for the Classification of Drilling Systems (CDS notation). Equipment entering a classed rig needs certificates class will accept, and some changes need design review.

Controls and hazardous areas

Most offshore floor machines run from a drilling control system with interlocks between the top drive, racker, roughneck and drawworks. A unit from another OEM or software generation can need new controllers, network hardware and integration testing. The drill floor and derrick are classified hazardous areas, so motors, sensors and junction boxes need valid ATEX or IECEx certification for the zone they sit in.

Records that make a used unit credible

API nameplate data, product specification level and serial number.
The last Category III and Category IV reports, with the inspector's name and company.
OEM service history, product bulletins applied and parts replaced.
Load test certificates after any repair or remanufacture.
Class certificates and survey records where the unit came off a classed rig.
Overload, dropped-object and collision incident records.

Naventr can pass these questions to the Seller, answer from the Seller's records and arrange an independent inspection if you ask for one.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What does API RP 8B Category IV inspection involve?

Category IV is the most thorough inspection in API RP 8B, with disassembly far enough to run NDT on every primary load-carrying part. It includes everything in Categories I to III. The OEM's documentation defines which parts are primary load-carrying, so the inspector needs the right manuals and wear limits for the model.

How do I find the real hook load capacity of my rig?

Your hook load capacity is the lowest rating anywhere in the load path, not the top drive or drawworks rating alone. Check the derrick at the number of lines you string, the crown and traveling blocks, the top drive or hook, the links and elevator, and the drilling line against its API RP 9B design factor.

Which API standards cover hoisting and pipe handling equipment?

API 4F covers derricks and masts, API 8C covers hoisting load-path items, API 7K covers rotary tables, slips, spiders, manual tongs and drawworks components, and API 9A covers wire rope. For equipment in service, API RP 4G, RP 8B and RP 9B set inspection, repair and wire rope practice.

Does class approval carry over when used drilling equipment moves to another rig?

Not automatically. Class certificates tie equipment to a unit and a set of design conditions. When you move a top drive, compensator or derrick to another classed rig, DNV or ABS will want the certificates, inspection records and, for structural or control changes, engineering documents before it accepts the equipment.

Will a used top drive or racker work with my existing drilling control system?

Only if its controls can join your system's interlocks and zone management. A machine from the same OEM and software generation is the simplest case. Otherwise plan for new controllers, network changes and a full integration test with the other floor machines before the unit runs.

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