Upstream
Rig Mats Matter
Winter 2016 Issue
By Eric Sharpe
A rig mat is a portable platform used in drilling operations to support heavy equipment and protect the land surrounding the operation reducing reclamation costs. Rig mats prevent heavy equipment from becoming unstable on soft ground and provides safe work space for the drilling operation. The mats are built in sections using wood planks housed in steel reinforcing beams. The sections are then locked together to create a uniform surface. But not all rig mats are alike.
Rig Mats of America, based in Billings, MT, has built a mat that is lightweight, strong, and is truly like no other on the market. Their Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) Access Mat is incredibly strong yet 50% lighter than other mats. Being able to load twice the mats per truck makes the CLT Access Mat the most cost effective mat to move from one location to another. RMA’s CLT mats transport costs can run as much as half the cost of traditional rig mats.
Rather than simple layering, the CLT mats are micro planed layers of wood measured to exact thickness. As each layer is laid down (with each layer’s grain pattern perpendicular to one another other- thus “cross laminated”) then an automated glue applicator puts the precise amount for each layer. After layer is placed, a full 8’X40′ press holds the glue until it has cured.
Despite being lighter, they are strong. In a 20,000 lbs test there was little more than an inch of “deflection” – bend. Additionally their CLT mats are manufactured in the same size and thickness as traditional rig mats ensuring that they are compatible with the mats in a company’s existing inventory. Over time, a traditional bolted mat becomes harder to fit together. The CLT Access Mat only has one bolted part making them easier to change out. Quality tested and proven strength at a much lower cost -that is an efficiency.
RMA also provides access mats (swamp mats) as a structural roadway to provide passage over unstable ground, pipelines and more as well as mats for other applications.