NOV PipeCat FX catwalk

A powered catwalk moves drill pipe, collars, and casing between the rack and the drill floor, so the crew is not carrying joints up the V-door. On a PipeCat, a trough raises to the floor and a skate pushes the tubular to well center, or catches it coming out of the elevators. Indexer arms load the trough from the racks.

It fits a land rig whose drill-floor height and tubular length match the trough. NOV’s onshore guide publishes two PipeCat layouts rather than a separate FX rating table. The PC-5-47 handles tubulars to 47 feet. The PC-5-65 handles tubulars to 65 feet. Both list a 10,000 pound safe working load, a diameter range of 2⅜ to 24 inches, and a 25-foot floor. Drill pipe and tubing on those sheets are 2⅜ to 6⅝ inches. If your floor is taller than 25 feet, those published layouts do not reach it.

A Canrig PC-3000 is another maker’s powered catwalk and does the same job. An STV works at the fingerboard, guiding stands, and is not a catwalk. A mousehole hoist only lifts the one joint already in the mousehole. If a listing says PipeCat FX, match the suffix on the nameplate to the data book before you treat it as a PC-5-47 or a PC-5-65.

Get the safe working load, the longest tubular, and the floor height off the nameplate. Ask whether the skate, indexers, and racks are on the skid or were left on the old rig. A trough without the skate will not deliver pipe to well center.