Stand (Drill Pipe)
A stand is a section of drill string consisting of two or three joints of drill pipe or drill collars screwed together and stored upright in the derrick or mast while tripping in or out of the hole, allowing the driller to run or pull multiple joints simultaneously rather than handling one joint at a time, thereby reducing trip time and improving operational efficiency.
Key Takeaways
- A double consists of two joints of drill pipe (approximately 18 to 19 metres), and a triple consists of three joints (approximately 27 to 29 metres); the number of joints per stand depends on the derrick height and the racking board position.
- Stands are racked back (stored vertically) in the fingerboard — a horizontal racking structure in the derrick — and held apart by fingers that prevent the stands from swinging against each other while the next stand is being made up or broken out.
- Tripping speed depends on stand length: deeper wells drilled with triples complete trips faster than wells drilled on smaller rigs using doubles because each connection handles twice as many joints per stand.
- The derrickman (or automated pipe-racking system) is responsible for racking and unracking stands at the fingerboard level, which is the most elevated and exposed work position on a conventional drilling rig.
- Automated pipe-handling systems on modern rigs rack and unrack stands mechanically, eliminating the need for personnel at the fingerboard and reducing the risk of dropped objects and falls from height.
Fast Facts
A standard API drill pipe joint is 9.14 metres (30 feet); a double is approximately 18.3 metres and a triple approximately 27.4 metres. The fingerboard on a conventional triple rig can typically hold 100 to 200 or more stands depending on rig design, sufficient to rack the entire drill string from a deep well without laying any pipe down. Time saved per connection when running triples versus singles is approximately two minutes per stand (one make-up or break-out connection instead of three), which accumulates to hours of saved rig time on a multi-kilometre trip. Quadruples (four-joint stands) are used on some ultra-deep-water rigs with very tall derricks.
What Is a Stand in Drilling?
Drilling deep wells requires assembling a drill string of hundreds or thousands of drill pipe joints, each 9 to 10 metres long and connected by threaded tool joints. When the bit needs to be changed or when a casing string is being run, the entire drill string must be pulled out of the hole (tripped out) and later run back in (tripped in). Handling each 9-metre joint individually would make trips extremely time-consuming on deep wells, so drillers group joints into stands that can be handled as a single unit during tripping operations.
When making up a stand during the trip out, the drill string is raised until the next stand's bottom connection is above the rig floor, the connection is broken out (unscrewed), the stand is swung to the fingerboard and racked back, and the next stand is pulled and racked. The process reverses during the trip in. The derrickman at the fingerboard guides each stand into its rack position and catches the stand's top as it swings in from the rotary table area.
The choice of double versus triple stand configuration depends on derrick height. Small portable rigs used in shallow or workover operations may handle only singles or doubles. Full-size land and offshore rigs for deep drilling typically handle triples. Some purpose-built ultra-deepwater drilling vessels use quadruples to minimize trip time on wells with 8 to 10 kilometre measured depths.
Stand Handling Across International Jurisdictions
Canada (AER / WCSB): Alberta Energy Regulator well control requirements and workplace safety regulations enforced by Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) govern derrickman working conditions and pipe-handling procedures on Alberta drilling rigs. Most modern Canadian land rigs in the WCSB are equipped to handle triples, with fingerboard capacity matched to anticipated well depth. The derrickman's position has been partially automated on newer rig designs deployed in the Montney and Duvernay, where iron roughneck and automated racking systems reduce personnel exposure at height. CAOEC (Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors) safe work practices cover fingerboard and racking board operations.
United States (BSEE / OSHA): OSHA regulations 29 CFR 1910 and 1926 govern fall protection, dropped object prevention, and personal protective equipment for workers at height on drilling rigs. BSEE offshore drilling regulations under 30 CFR Part 250 cover well control and operational safety but defer to OSHA for workplace safety specifics. Most US land rigs drilling Eagle Ford, Permian, and Haynesville horizontal wells use triple capability, and many newer pad-drilling rigs feature walking capabilities and automated pipe-handling to reduce trip times and personnel exposure.
Norway (Sodir / Petroleum Safety Authority): The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) requires offshore drilling rigs operating on the NCS to comply with detailed regulations on lifting equipment, personnel at height, and dropped object prevention. Norwegian offshore rigs are among the most heavily automated in the world, with robotic pipe handlers, offline stand-building systems, and automated fingerboards that eliminate the need for a derrickman working at height in the racking board area. Statoil's (now Equinor's) push for fully automated pipe handling led to the development of systems now used on several classes of North Sea semis and drillships.
Middle East (Saudi Aramco): Saudi Aramco drilling operations on both land and offshore rigs follow Aramco's Drilling Engineering Manual and safety management system, which incorporate IADC (International Association of Drilling Contractors) well control standards and address stand-handling procedures. Deep Khuff and Arab Formation wells with measured depths exceeding 5,000 metres require efficient stand-handling capability, and Aramco's newer land rig fleet incorporates automated pipe-racking systems to reduce trip times on these deep wells.
Synonyms and Related Terminology
A stand is also called a pipe stand or a racked stand. Related terms include drill pipe, tool joint, fingerboard, derrickman, trip, make-up, and break-out. A double refers specifically to a two-joint stand and a triple to a three-joint stand; both are instances of a stand. The term "stand" can also refer to a stand of casing or tubing during running operations, using the same racking principle.
Tip: When planning a well that will require multiple bit trips — as in a deep well with several bit changes — evaluate the trip time impact of rig stand capacity carefully. A rig that handles doubles instead of triples on a 5,000-metre well will require roughly twice as many connections per trip and may add 4 to 8 rig-hours per trip depending on depth and trip speed. Multiplied over 5 to 8 planned trips in a typical deep well program, this can amount to 20 to 64 additional rig-hours — significant at day rates of $50,000 to $200,000 per day. Specifying a triple-capable rig adds marginal cost per day but reduces total well cost when deep trips are required.
FAQ
What is the difference between a stand and a joint?
A joint is a single length of drill pipe, drill collar, or casing as manufactured, typically 9 to 10 metres for drill pipe and 9.1 metres for API casing. A stand is an assembly of two or three joints made up together (screwed together at their tool joint connections) and handled as a single unit during tripping. During drilling, the drill string is typically assembled one stand at a time — a three-joint stand is lowered into the hole, the Kelly or top drive engages the next stand already assembled at the mousehole, the new stand is made up to the drill string, and drilling continues. The stand is the fundamental unit of drill string handling on a rig; the joint is the fundamental unit of material and inspection.
What is stand-building and why does it matter for trip efficiency?
Stand-building is the process of assembling stands offline (in the mousehole or in a dedicated stand-building area) while drilling continues, so that when a trip is required the stands are already pre-assembled and ready to rack. Stand-building is particularly valuable on pad-drilling rigs that batch-drill many wells from a single location, because the time saved in pre-assembling stands can significantly reduce total well drilling time. On some modern automated rigs, stand-building happens continuously in a pipe-handling area separate from the rig floor, so that tripping in can proceed at maximum speed without waiting for stand make-up.
Why Stands Matter
Trip efficiency is a significant component of overall well drilling time and cost. On a deep horizontal well with measured depths of 5,000 to 8,000 metres, a single trip may require pulling and running several hundred stands. Optimizing stand length, racking capacity, and pipe-handling systems to maximize trip speed is a major focus of modern rig design and operations. The shift from manual derrickman operations to automated pipe-handling systems has simultaneously improved trip speed, reduced personnel exposure at height, and decreased dropped object risk — representing one of the most impactful safety improvements in rig design over the past two decades.