HYDRATING DRIVE SHOE

The Hydrating Drive Shoe was designed mainly for achieving deeper penetration during the driving of offshore Well Conductor Pipe.

The idea was to eliminate the soil plug from entering the pipe and to lubricate or hydrate the soils surrounding the outer wall. While driving through cohesive soils, such as clay, with low water content, the soil tends to stick to the pipe causing friction which absorbs the energy required to penetrate the soil. By adding water during the driving process, the lubricity enables the pipe to penetrate faster and deeper with less energy.



The closed end shoe not only eliminates the soil from entering the pipe, but it also keeps mudline debris from entering the pipe. This feature alone has helped save costly rig time. An example, a client had driven pipe on a previous offshore platform that had mudline debris. The debris consisted of steel grating among other things that were deposited most likely from storms over the years. The debris ended up inside of the drive pipe and had to be milled out before the well could be spud in. This process took four days.

The Hydrating Shoe’s pointed shape pushes the debris aside clearing a path for the pipe to be driven. The inside of the drive pipe remains clear all the way down to the shoe saving valuable drilling time.