Welcome to RK Pipe & Supply

In business for over 30 years, RK Pipe & Supply, LLC is a leading supplier of new and used drill pipe, tubular products and drilling equipment. The company was founded in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1979. Located between two major international ports, Houston and New Orleans, and immediately near the Port of Iberia, RK Pipe provides the highest quality service for customers locally, nationally and internationally.

Well Drilling Products & Services

With 30 years of experience in the drilling equipment business, RK Pipe confidently serves clients with a variety of needs, providing a wide range of services. The greatest is our ability to ship whichever parts your job needs expediently with high quality, nationally and internationally. If we don’t have it in stock, we’ll help you find it. We encourage you to check our current inventory. Please contact our sales department for questions or quotes.

RK Pipe sells a wide variety of new and used drilling equipment including tubular products (drill pipe, drill collars, heavy weight drill pipe, spiral weight, etc.), pipe handling equipment, and many other items. We handle equipment from multiple drill pipe and drilling equipment manufactures including Gardner Denver, National Oilwell Varco, Continental Emsco, Ideco, MKP, BJ, Webb-Wilson, Baash-Ross, Access Oil Tools (AOT), Wooley, DM, Global and others.

Drilling Equipment and Peace of Mind.

When you buy drill pipe and drilling equipment from RK Pipe & Supply, you will have peace of mind in knowing you are buying at the best prices from one of the industry’s leading providers, with decades of experience serving the oil & gas industry’s drill pipe and drilling equipment needs. Please check our online inventory for a full list of what RK Pipe & Supply has in stock.

About Us

Tricone & PDC Drill Bits

RK Pipe and Supply sells multiple types of Drill Bits for well drilling and drilling equipment from multiple manufacturers. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for information and quotes.

What is a Well Drilling Drill Bit?

A drill bit is a device attached to the end of the drill string that breaks apart, cuts or crushes the rock formations when drilling a wellbore, such as those drilled to extract water, gas, or oil.

The drill bit is hollow and has jets to allow for the expulsion of the drilling fluid, or “mud”, at high velocity and high pressure to help clean the bit and, for softer formations, help to break apart the rock.A tricone bit comprises three conical rollers with teeth made of a hard material, such as tungsten carbide. The teeth break rock by crushing as the rollers move around the bottom of the borehole. A polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit has no moving parts and works by scraping the rock surface with disk-shaped teeth made of a slug of synthetic diamond attached to a tungsten carbide cylinder.

Tricone Drill Bits

The tricone bit is an improvement on the original bit patented in 1909 by Howard R. Hughes, Sr. of Houston, Texas, father of the famed billionaire Howard R. Hughes, Jr..

PDC Drill Bits

PDC bits, first came into widespread use in 1976, used for gas and oil exploration the North Sea. They are effective at drilling shale formations, especially when used in combination with oil-base drilling muds.

Singular, Double, Annular Blowout Preventers (BOPs)

RK Pipe & Supply offers new and used single, double, and annular blowout preventers from multiple manufacturers. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for information and quotes.

Annular-Type Blowout Preventer

An annular blowout preventer (BOP) is a drilling equipment component that is installed at the top of the BOP stack (see Figure 1A) and has the capability of closing (sealing off) on anything in the bore or completely shutting off (CSO) the open hole by applying closing pressure.

The sealing device of an annular blowout preventer is referred to as the “packing element”. It is basically a donut- shaped element made out of elastomeric material. To reinforce the elastomeric material, different shapes of metallic material are molded into the element.

This keeps the elastomeric material from extruding when operating system pressure or well bore pressure is applied to the bottom of the packing element. Since the packing element is exposed to different drilling environments (i.e., drilling fluid/mud and or temperature of the drilling fluid), it is important to make sure that the proper packing element is installed in the annular preventer for the anticipated environment of the drilling operation.

During normal drilling wellbore operations, the blowout preventer is kept fully open by leaving the piston in the open (down) position. This position permits passage of drilling equipment and tools, casing, and other items which are equal to the full bore size of the blowout preventer. The blowout preventer is maintained in the open position by relaxing all hydraulic control pressures to the closing chamber. Application of hydraulic pressure to the opening chamber ensures positive control of the piston.

Closing Pressure – Blowout Preventer Operation

In order for the annular blowout preventer to close on anything in the bore or to perform a complete shut-off, CSO, closing pressure must be applied. As the piston is moved to the closed position, the elastomer packer is squeezed inward to a sealing engagement with anything in the bore or on the open hole. Compression of the elastomer throughout the sealing area assures a strong, durable seal off against any shape, even with a previously used or damaged packer.

The piston is moved to the closed position by applying hydraulic pressure to the closing chamber. Guidelines for closing pressures are contained in the operational section for each manufacturer’s type of annular blowout preventer and in the Operator’s Manual. The correct closing pressure will ensure long life, whereas excessive or deficient closing pressures will reduce packer life. The pressure regulator valve of the hydraulic control unit should be adjusted to the manufacturer’s recommended closing pressure.

Subsea applications may require an adjustment of closing pressure due to effects of the hydrostatic head of the control fluid and of the drilling fluid column in the marine riser. The applicable Operator’s Manual will explain these requirements.

Stripping With An Annular Blowout Preventer (BOP)

Drill pipe can be rotated and tool joints stripped through a closed packer, while maintaining a full seal on the drill pipe. Longest packer life is obtained by adjusting the closing chamber pressure just low enough to maintain a seal on the drill pipe with a slight amount of drilling fluid leakage as the tool joint passes through the packer. The leakage indicates the lowest usable closing pressure for minimum packer wear and provides lubrication for the drill pipe motion through the packer.

A pressure regulator valve should be set to maintain the proper closing pressure. For stripping purposes, the regulator valve is usually too small and cannot respond fast enough for effective control, so a surge bottle is connected as closely as possible to the blowout preventer closing port (particularly for subsea installations). The surge bottle is precharged with nitrogen, and is installed in the BOP closing line in order to reduce the pressure surge which occurs each time a tool joint enters the closed packer during stripping. A properly installed surge bottle helps reduce packer wear when stripping. Check manufacturer’s recommendations for proper nitrogen precharge pressure for your particular operating requirements. In subsea operations, it is advisable to add an accumulator to the opening chamber line to prevent undesirable pressure variations.

Ram-Type Blowout Preventer

A ram-type blowout preventer is basically a large bore valve (see Figure 1B). The ram blowout preventer is designed to seal off the well bore when drill pipe, casing, or tubing is in the well. In a BOP stack, ram preventers are located between the annular blowout preventer and the wellhead (see Figure 2B). There are typically 3 or 4 ram preventers in a BOP stack. Flanged or hubbed side outlets are located on one or both sides of the ram BOPs. These outlets are sometimes used to attach the valved choke and kill lines to. The outlets enter the wellbore of the ram preventer immediately under the ram cavity.

Other than sealing off the well bore, rams can be used to hang-off the drill string. A pipe ram, closed around the drill pipe with the tool-joint resting on the top of the ram, can hold up to 600,000 lbs. of drill string.

Several different types of rams are installed in the ram type BOP body. The four main types of rams are Pipe Rams, Blind Rams, Shearing Blind Rams, and Variable Bore Rams. Following is a brief description of each type:

Blind Rams

The rubber sealing element is flat and can seal the wellbore when there is nothing in it, i.e., “open hole”. (See Figure 3)

Pipe Rams

The sealing element is shaped to fit around a variety of tubulars, which include production tubing, drill pipe, drill collars, and casing that will seal off the wellbore around it. (See Figure 4)

Variable Bore Rams

The sealing element is much more complex and allows for sealing around a particular range of pipe sizes. (See Figure 5)

Shearing Blind Rams

The blade portion of the rams shears or cuts the drill pipe, and then a seal is obtained much like the blind ram. (See Figure 6)

NOTE – Also available are shear rams that are capable of shearing multiple tubing strings and large diameter tubulars while maintaining a reliable wellbore pressure seal.

Ram Locking Device

A ram locking device is necessary to be fitted to all ram blowout preventers. This device is used whenever it is necessary to remove hydraulic operating pressure from the “close” side of the ram operating system, but maintain the ram preventer in the close position. On BOP stacks that are used in a surface application, the ram locking device is a threaded rod, referred to as a “lock screw”. This lock screw reacts between the operating piston in the ram operating system, and the housing of the lock screw. The locking device on a ram preventer that is used in a subsea application must be designed to be remotely actuated by either the BOP hydraulic control unit, or by the actual movement of the operating piston in the ram operating system.

Square, Pin Kelly Bushings & Replacement Parts

RK Pipe sells new and used square and pin kelly bushings and replacement parts for your drilling equipment. Please peruse our online inventory and contact our sales department for questions and quotes.

Kelly Drive Bushings Dimensions

Square drive kelly bushing dimensions, pin drive kelly bushing dimensions, square drive master bushings dimensions, and pin drive master dimensions are shown in Figure 1 and Table 1 (based on API Spec. 7K).

Kelly Drive Bushings – Single and Double-Plane Rollers

There are two basic designs of kelly drive bushings – single and double-plane rollers.

1. In the first design, the drive rollers are in a single plane. Depending on the manufacturer, the kelly bushing may have a split or solid body casing.

a. In the split body design, the roller pins are supported in the body journals and clamped by top nuts which bolt the body halves together. To replace the roller assemblies, the cover is removed and the rollers are accessible.

b. In a solid cast body, the roller pins are supported by replaceable sleeves. To remove a roller assembly, retain¬ing pins are removed, the roller pin taken out from the side, and the roller removed from the back.

2. The second basic design of kelly drive bushings used two rollers for each driving surface on the kelly. The rollers are stacked one above the other in “cages”. All roller pins and bearings are part of this cage assembly. The cages are removable from the bushing body. The two plane roller bushing for hex kellys is adjustable for kelly and bushing wear. The two plane roller bushing for square kellys is not adjustable.

See Figure 2 for Kelly Bushing Replacement Parts.

Square, Hexagonal Kellys

RK Pipe & Supply sells new and used square and hexagonal kellys from multiple manufacturers. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for information and quotes.

Square and Hexagonal Kelly Configuratoins

Kellys are manufactured with one of two drive configurations, square or hexagonal. Dimensions are listed in Table 1 and 2. Square kellys are furnished as forged or machined in the drive section. Hexagonal or fully machined square kellys are machined from full length quenched and tempered round bars.

Values in Tables 2 and 3 are from formulas listed in par. A.7, A.11 and A.12, Appendix A of API RP7G.

Drill Pipe Handling Equipment: Links, Blocks, Hooks and Swivels

The team at RK Pipe & Supply, LLC are experts in essential pipe handling equipment such as elevators, blocks, hooks and swivels. We sell both new and drilling equipment used from a variety of manufacturers. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for additional information and get our most competitive price quotes.

Recommended radii for various blocks, bails, links, and link ears are specified in Figure 1 and Table 1.

Handling Equipment Table – Elevator Links, Traveling Block, Hook Bail, Swivel Bail

Mud Pumps, Mud Tanks, and Mud Management Systems

RK Pipe sells new and used mud management components including pumps and tanks, etc. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for information and quotes.

A drilling mud pump is a reciprocating piston/plunger device designed to circulate drilling fluid under high pressure (up to 7,500 psi (52,000 kPa) ) down the drill string and back up the annulus.

Mud Pump Sizes & Configurations

Mud pumps come in a variety of sizes and configurations but for the typical petroleum drilling rig, the triplex (three piston/plunger) mud pump is the pump of choice. Duplex mud pumps (two piston/plungers) have generally been replaced by the triplex pump, but are still common in developing countries. Two later developments are the hex pump with six vertical pistons/plungers, and various quintuplex’s with five horizontal piston/plungers. The advantages that these new pumps have over convention triplex pumps is a lower mud noise which assists with better MWD and LWD retrieval. The “normal” mud pump consist of two main sub-assemblies, the fluid end and the power end. The fluid end produces the pumping process with valves, pistons, and liners. Because these components are high-wear items, modern pumps are designed to allow quick replacement of these parts.

Mud Pump Suction & Discharge Pulsation Dampeners

To reduce severe vibration caused by the pumping process, these drilling mud pumps incorporate both a suction and discharge pulsation dampener. These are connected to the inlet and outlet of the fluid end. The power end converts the rotation of the drive shaft to the reciprocating motion of the pistons. In most cases a crosshead crank gear is used for this.

Mud Pumps and Replacement Parts

The fluid end produces the pumping process with valves, pistons, and liners. Because these components are high-wear items, modern pumps are designed to allow quick replacement of these parts.

Mud Pumps, Mud Tanks, and Mud Management Systems

RK Pipe sells new and used mud management components including pumps and tanks, etc. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for information and quotes.

A drilling mud pump is a reciprocating piston/plunger device designed to circulate drilling fluid under high pressure (up to 7,500 psi (52,000 kPa) ) down the drill string and back up the annulus.

Mud Pump Sizes & Configurations

Mud Pump Suction & Discharge Pulsation Dampeners

Mud Pumps and Replacement Parts

The fluid end produces the pumping process with valves, pistons, and liners. Because these components are high-wear items, modern pumps are designed to allow quick replacement of these parts.

Rotary Tables & Well Drilling Hoisting Tools

RK Pipe & Supply sells new and used Rotary Tables and well drilling hoisting tools for your drilling equipment needs. Please check our online inventory and contact our sales department for help and quotations.

Rotary Tables & Drilling Hoisting Equipment

A rotary table is a mechanical device on a drilling rig that provides clockwise (as viewed from above) rotational force to the drill string to facilitate the process of drilling a borehole.

In figure 1, #20 (in blue) is the rotary table. The kelly drive #19, is inserted through the center of the rotary table and kelly bushings, and has free vertical (up & down) movement to allow downward force to be applied to the drill string, while the rotary table rotates it. (Note: Force is not actually applied from the top (as to push) but rather the weight is at the bottom of the drill string like a pendulum on a string.)

Chain Drive Rotary Tables

Most rotary tables are chain driven. These chains resemble very large bicycle chains. The chains require constant oiling to prevent burning and seizing.

Rotary Table Locks

Virtually all rotary tables are equipped with a rotary lock. Engaging the lock can either prevent the rotary from turning in one particular direction, or from turning at all. This is commonly used by crews in lieu of using a second pair of tongs to makeup or break out pipe.

Rotary Bushings

The rotary bushings are located at the center of the rotary table. These can generally be removed in two separate pieces to facilitate large items, i.e. drill bits, to pass through the rotary table. The large gap in the center of the rotary bushings is referred to as the “bowl” due to its appearance. The bowl is where the slips are set to hold up the drill string during connections and pipe trips as well as the point the drill string passes through the floor into the wellbore. The rotary bushings connect to the kelly bushings to actually induce the spin required for drilling.

Rotary Table Drive Sprocket

The distance between the center of the rotary table and the center of the first row of sprocket teeth shall be 53- 1/4 in. for machines that will pass a 20 in. bit or larger. It shall be 44 in. for machines that will not pass a 20 in. bit, except that, by agreement between the manufacturer and the purchaser, the distance of 53-1/4 in. may be used. The distance shall be 65 in. for the 49-1/2 in. rotary table opening.

Rotary Table Pinion-Shaft Extension

Rotary table pinion-shaft extensions shall be furnished in the sizes shown in In Table 1, as specified on the purchase order, and shall conform to the dimensions and tolerances shown in Table 1 and Figure 1A.

Demountable Rotary Table Sprockets

Demountable rotary table sprockets to be mounted on the rotary table shafts are shown in Table 2 and Figure 2. The sprockets, single strand and double strand, have one common hub with identical bolt circle, number of bolts, and size of bolts. (See Table 2 and Figure 2 for shaft details)

Rotary Table Drive Master Bushings

Rotary Table openings for square drive master bushings and for pin drive master bushings shall conform to the requirements of Table 3 (based on API Spec 7K).

Shale Shakers & Shale Shaker Repair Parts

RK Pipe & Supply sells new and used drilling equipment including Shale Shakers and Shale Shaker repair parts. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for information and quotes.

Shale shakers are devices that remove drill cuttings from the drilling fluid that is used for boring holes into the earth. Controlling the solids in drilling fluid is an important component of the cost of drilling, so research into improved shale shaker design is ongoing.

Shale Shaker Design

Shale shakers typically consist of large, flat sheets of wire mesh screens or sieves of various mesh sizes that shake or vibrate the drill cuttings, commonly shale, across and off of the screens as the drilling fluid (mud) flows through them and back into the drilling fluid system. This separates the solid drill cuttings from the fluid so that it can be recirculated back down the wellbore. In oilfield industry, linear motion shale shakers are widely used.

Shale Shaker Screen Panels

Screen panels play a major role by removing particles larger than the mesh size. Screen selection is critical since shaking is the primary stage in the removal of solids. Improper screen selection can lead to de-blinding, loss of drilling fluids, premature pump part failures, overloading of other solids removal equipment within the mud systems, decreased service life , reduced flow rate capacity, and serious problems in the wellbore.

Drilling Tongs

RK Pipe & Supply sells a variety of drilling equipment for your drilling projects, including new and used tongs. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for information and quotes. Our team of professions is ready to field your questions and get you the best possible pricing.

Tong Usage In A Drill String

These large wrenches which are used to make up or break out drill pipe, casing, tubing, or other pipe are variously called casing tongs, pipe tongs, and so forth. These names are ascribed according to the specific intended use, which are as follows:

Power Tongs

Power tongs are pneumatically or hydraulically operated tools that serve to spin the pipe up tight and, in some instances, to apply the final makeup torque.

Tubing Tongs

Tubing tongs are used to break out and make up tubing. They may be operated manually, hydraulically, or pneumatically.

Casing Tongs

Casing tongs are used for turning when making up or breaking out casing.

Spinning Chain Tongs

Spinning chain is a y-shaped chain that is used to spin up (tighten) one joint of drill pipe into another. One end of the chain is attached to the tongs.

Power Rod Tongs

Power rod tongs are tongs that are actuated by air or hydraulic fluid and are used for making up or breaking out sucker rods.

Chisel Tongs

Chisel tongs are pipe tongs that grip the pipe with a chisel-like insert in the jaw of the wrench.

Chain Tongs

Chain tongs are a hand tool consisting of a handle and chain that resembles the chain on a bicycle. In general, chain tongs are used for turning pipe.

Webb-Wilson Tongs

Webb-Wilson are mechanical tongs; sometimes used generically for all brands of tongs.

If you have any questions about the options available or are unsure which of these options you need for your drilling project, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us today. Our team of experts have been powering the oil & gas drilling industry for over 30 years and can quickly help fit you with the exact products you need to keep your project moving. Contact RK Pipe, your source for industrial-grade drilling equipment. Serving the oil & gas industry for 30 years. Call us today at (337) 367-99224.

Kelly & Mud Drilling Valves, Kelly Cocks

RK Pipe & Supply sells new and used kelly valves and mud valves from various manufacturers. Please see our online inventory and contact our sales department for information and quotes.

The Kelly Valve

Kelly valves are manually operated valves run above and/or below the kelly to shut off back-flow in the drill stem in the case of a well kick.

Upper Kelly Cocks

An upper kelly cock is intended for use between the lower end of the swivel sub and the upper end of the kelly. Upper kelly cocks are furnished in 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000 psi maximum working pressure ratings and have a working temperature rating of 180 degrees F maximum.

Upper kelly cocks are available for either square kellys or hexagon kellys and in the sizes as shown in Tables 1 and 2.

Upper kelly cocks are furnished with box up and pin down (both left hand) rotary shouldered connections in the size and style shown in Tables 1 and 2.

On new drill pipe valves, a tong space of 8 inches minimum length and with an outside diameter as shown in Figure D6- 1 and columns 3 and 4 of Tables 1 and 2 is typical. The exact location of the 8 inch long tong space is at the discretion of the manufacturer.

The outside diameters, bores and bevel diameters on each end of upper kelly cocks conform to the dimensions shown in Tables 1 and 2. The O.D. and shape of the kelly cock body will vary with the manufacturer.

API requires that licensed manufacturers of upper kelly cocks subject each valve to a hydrostatic shop test pressure as shown in Table 3. The required manufacturer’s hydrostatic shop pressure test consists of:

Lower Kelly Cocks

A lower kelly cock (shown in Figure 2) is intended for use between the lower end of the kelly and the upper end of the drill pipe or upper end of the kelly saver sub. Routinely lower kelly cocks are furnished with 5,000 psi maximum pressure ratings. Designs for higher working may be acquired from some manufacturers. The working temperature rating for lower kelly cocks is 180 degrees F.

Lower kelly cocks are available for either square or hexagon kellys and in the sizes shown in Tables 3 and 4 respectively.

Lower kelly cocks are furnished with box up and pin down (both right hand) rotary shouldered connections in the sizes and styles shown in Tables 3 and 4. For the upper box and lower pin connections on lower kelly cocks used with 4-1/4 and 5-1/4 square kellys and 5-1/4 and 6 hexagonal kellys, two sizes and styles of connections are standard. The purchase order should state the size and style desired.

New lower kelly cocks are furnished in lengths sufficient to provide a minimum tong space of 8 inches after the box and pin connections have been re-cut at least once.

Lower kelly cocks may be furnished with outside diameters as large as operations in the well permit, in order to produce kelly cocks with a minimum strength in torsion and in tension at least as great as the respective strengths of the tool joints used in the string.

API requires that licensed manufacturers of lower kelly cocks subject each value to a 10,000 psi shop hydraulic test pressure. If higher test pressures are required, the manufacturer should be contacted to arrange the testing.

Automatic Mud Saver Valves

Mud saver valves (shown in Figure 3) are proprietary valves designed to prevent the drilling mud contained in the kelly from running from the kelly when the lower connection is unscrewed. They are intended for use between the lower end of the kelly and the upper end of the drill pipe.

Mud saver valves are available in 4-3/4″ and 6-1/2″ O.D.s.

Mud saver valves are furnished with box up and pin down right hand rotary shouldered connections. Standard sizes and styles of connections are the NC38 (3-1/2″ IF) on the 4-3/4″ O.D. size and the NC50 (4-1/2″ IF) on the 6-1/2″ O.D. size.

Automatic mud saver valves are not designed to hold pressure from kicks in the drill stem. A back flow feature is designed into the valve to permit automatic bleed-off of pressure in the drill stem.