ACLC: Game changing technology

Last month we launched the latest card in our deck, the Ace Control Line Clamp (ACLC). This was the culmination of many months of hard work, innovation and development.

We’re taking the opportunity in this latest blog to speak more about the ACLC, looking in-depth at its design and usage for the completions market.

Based on our existing ratchet technology, the ACLC provides a high axial and radial holding force, and by working with the latest cutting-edge automated technology, we were able to present a solution to the market which improves safety and efficiency, and one that reduces staff in the red zone by 50%.

We saw the potential for Ace’s simple but effective stop collar design to be enhanced to cut the manpower and time needed in the most dangerous area of the rig, the red zone. With the ratchet collar capable of being installed anywhere on the tubing, we recognised the value it could add to streamlining control line clamping operations which often require manual and time-consuming work on the pipe deck to fix control lines onto downhole tubing, traditionally with cross-coupling clamps.

The ACLC technology is adapted from the Ace Ratchet Collar (ARC) which provides a safer, more reliable and more cost-effective stop collar to traditional methods. In the ACLC design, the stop collar has a specially designed retention lid with designated spaces to hold the control lines. Part of the ACLC is pre-installed onto the tubing either onshore or offshore on the pipe deck before being combined with the control lines themselves using the semi-automated arm. With no bolts, screws or nails and installed with this semi-automatic arm, the ACLC reimagines completions operations to cut time, costs and risk. We are also designing a fully automated installation version for the ACLC that will eliminate overhead hazards and personnel in the red zone and therefore meet the rig requirements of the future.

It is this focus on risk reduction that lies at the heart of the ACLC’s purpose. With Ace’s revolutionary clamp technology and automated technology combined, total time spent in the red zone during completion operations can be cut by 30% and the staff needed to conduct these operations can be cut by 50%

By enabling automation during the installation of control line clamps, the ACLC reimagines one of the most critical and challenging elements of well completion. The result is the ability for control line clamping operations to be conducted from a distance, using state of the art machinery which moves completion operations away from traditional high-risk processes.

During the launch of the product, we put together a video explaining how the ACLC works. The video, featuring our very own VP of New Ventures, Lasse Hetland, gives a step-by-step guide of how the tool works and the benefits it brings to completion operations.

The team are always on hand to respond to customer queries and share their passion for the latest of our revolutionary downhole tools, the ACLC.

You can watch the video here, or alternatively, please contact us here so we can answer any questions you may have.