Designed, engineered and built to meet the needs of today's more complex extended reach and horizontal wells, the Hydrastab has quickly established itself as the best vgs tool in the market place.

Reliable and simple to use, the Hydrastab offers the directional man the inclination control he wants, particularly when placed above today's longer, more powerful motors. With a choice of either two or three positions, a gauge range of up to 1¼" and the ability to change position in 60-seconds or less, the Hydrastab h-vgs has rightly been described as a second-generation vgs tool.

Overview

Toolbox was formed in 1997 by a dedicated engineering and marketing team, which brought together many years of vgs experience.
	Determined to design and build the next generation vgs tool they set down the parameters directional drillers wanted to better control downhole inclination. The end result was the Hydrastab: the only variable gauge stabilizer with OCTG certification and therefore Shell Expro approval.
Toolbox's marketing base is in Aberdeen; its engineering home is Sheffield, England. The company has tools operating in the North Sea, the Middle-Far East and more recently the US and Canada.

Engineering

The Hydrastab suite of tools are engineered, built and serviced at our Sheffield, England office.
All tools not only conform to but surpass industry recognized standards and the hydrastab range of tools are the only variable gauge stabilizers to be certified by OCTG - the company Shell task to ensure downhole tools used on their wells are fit for purpose.
Toolbox can also build vgs tools to most specifications, given sufficient time frame and an ongoing commitment from the customer. We can also provide tools with varying thread sizes e.g. all 12 ¼" tools can be offered with either 6-5/8" Reg or 7-5/8" Reg Box / Pin or Box / Box connections.

News

The same tool was inhole for almost 350 hours (15 days) and it should be noted that the surface signal denoting gauge change was as strong at the end of the run as it was at the beginning.

(They then decided to run the 7-1/2" to 8-1/2" Hydrastab on the deeper hole section)

The VGS / Motor combination not only reduces motor orient and slide time but ensures the string is kept rotating to the right for the majority of both hole sections.

The hydraulically actuated, three positional Hydrastab tools with a larger gauge change are ideal when wanting to build, hold and drop angle with the same BHA.

For many applications, the motor / VGS combination is the low cost alternative to RSS

The GTY BHI coordinators have run the Hydrastab tools extensively in the Southern sector and appreciate the inclination control the VGS / motor combination can give them through some of the North Seas' most challenging formations.

The 12-1/4" 3P tools built in the minimum gauge, dropped in the maximum gauge with BHI / Tullow confirming that the 11" to 12-1/4" Hydrastab saved significant motor slide time.

Because of the abrasive formation SLB requested that the pistons (blades) be diamond impregnated.

Hydrastab tools drill B41 on Britannia
BOL's Britannia platform continues to run the 11" Hydrastab above the BHI motor to drill their 12-1/4" sections and recently decided to change from the two to the three positional Hydrastab tools to take advantage of the intermediate gauge position (11-5/8"). 

The Hydrastab tools have been run on every Britannia well for the past four years and their consistent downhole reliability has been recognized by both the client and the directional company.

This reliability will continue to grow in importance as rig rates escalate ever higher in the North Sea.

The CNR / SLB drilling team appreciate that full inclination control can be achieved using a three-positional VGS tool and the need for increased downhole reliability as rig prices climb makes the Hydrastab the best candidate for the job.

The VGS / motor combination once again shows that it is the low cost alternative to RSS