When I started as an MWD field technician in 2011, the industry looked a lot different. I still remember my first rig in Pyote, TX—my first day on the job, first time in West Texas, and first time seeing a drilling rig up close.
While I wasn’t around for the days of dropping acid-filled glass bottles downhole, I came in early enough that being sent to a rig without internet access wasn’t uncommon.
A When One Pulse Throws Everything Off
- One memory that stands out is drilling in the Barnett Shale near Boyd, TX, in 2012.
Despite the Barnett's reputation for easy drilling and easy living, that job was anything but.
At the time, natural gas prices were falling fast, and so was the rig count. The client was making contract decisions based on speed and zero downtime, especially when it came to MWD.
We had barely begun the lateral when we struggled to catch sync.
•• • • Strong signal
•• • • No noise
•• • • Yet, one pulse in the sync sequence was slightly off, confusing the outdated decoding • • • • • • software.
With no solution, I tried everything:
•• • • Swapping components
•• • • Adjusting flow parameters
•• • • Hoping for downhole conditions to shift
Tripping was the last resort, but it was looming—and back then, real-time support didn’t • • • • exist. If your coordinator didn’t have an answer, you were on your own.
• • It was high-pressure problem-solving in its rawest form.
A Different Kind of Troubleshooting
Fast forward a decade, and I’m on the other side—providing 24/7 support at Erdos Miller.
One call stands out:
A field hand reported an abrupt loss of confidence after a survey sequence decoded.
He felt isolated, blamed, and helpless—just like I had years before.
I investigated:
•• • • Pulses were clean
•• • • No pump noise
•• • • No signs of downhole interference
After asking a few questions, he mentioned using a backup computer to program MicroPulse.
I accessed the backup laptop and found the issue:
The tool had been programmed with a mismatched configuration.
A quick correction and:
•• • • Issue resolved in minutes
•• • • Drilling and gamma logging resumed
•• • • Relief in his voice was unmistakable
These small wins always take me back to my early days—where solving the problem felt like • • •winning the lottery.
Coming Full Circle
In 2024, less than 5% of support requests resulted in NPT.
That’s huge when NPT can make or break a contract—or even a company.
From struggling in the field to now being part of the solution, my MWD career has truly come full circle.
Author:
Clayton Carter - Field Support Specialist
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