Operators have long recognized the value of utilizing independent third-party QA/QC services for equipment and services whose failure would cause significant downtime and cost to a drilling operation.
One very significant exception to this, however, has been Drilling and Completion Fluid Products and Systems where independent QA/QC services have seen minimal use. This is in spite of the fact that below-specification drilling fluids products can add very significant costs to well construction. As a minimum, the consequences are the cost of increased product consumption and in the worst case the loss of a hole section, a well or impaired production.
The need for independent Drilling Fluid QA/QC services has increased recently as continuous pressure to reduce costs has driven drilling fluids suppliers to made major changes to their product procurement processes. This has resulted in critical products now being bought from a variety of less well known and more geographically diverse suppliers rather than from a single global supplier.
Whilst this reduces costs it also increases potential of variability in product standards and lapses in the QA/QC processes that govern them.
The Fluids Specialists (TFS) are able to offer a unique, comprehensive and independent Drilling and Completions Fluids QA/QC service to the industry.
Product Sampling
The foundation of any QA/QC process is to ensure that truly representative samples are collected for testing.
In order to achieve this TFS have established a set of sampling tools and procedures that are specifically designed to ensure that a representative sample is collected for each of the many different types of products. For example, our sampling tools and procedures will ensure representative samples are obtained from the center of sacks of either hard packed dense materials or free flowing powders and also ensure that representative samples are taken from viscous materials in drums where the product might have been left standing and is no longer uniform in the drum.
After sampling, TFS provide items to repair any damage done to packaging and to label the damage as being the result of QA/QC sampling.
Ideally, products sample should be taken by a trained TFS representative, however if this is not feasible TFS can supply a sampling kit along with detailed sampling procedures and videos for use by selected operator personnel.
