A new generation electro-mechanical downhole power unit for setting and retrieving packers, bridge plugs, whipstocks, subsea tree plugs, and other downhole devices has been recently developed and deployed. The new Downhole Power Unit - Intelligent, DPU-I® is designed to operate at high temperatures and extremely high pressures (400°F, 30K psi) and to provide up to 100K lbf setting force. The high force for either setting or retrieving downhole devices is independent of hydrostatic pressure and provides an alternative to jointed pipe or coiled tubing interventions, which were previously required to obtain high setting forces. New to the industry is the ability to monitor the downhole line tension, stroke length, setting force, the rate at which the force is being applied during the setting operation, and force at which the DPU-I detaches from the downhole device in real time at the wellsite or remotely by means of global satellite communications. This new functionality enables well completions experts to remotely monitor the setting or retrieval operations 24 hours per day, seven days per week. It also provides a record of the setting operation for risk mitigation, and for developing and improving best practices. This new downhole power unit conforms to our digital workflows used to model, measure, and optimize customer assets. The slow controlled setting operation enables the slips or other anchoring mechanisms in the device to be set and to fully engage the casing/tubing and for the elastomer sealing elements to conform to the casing or tubing ID. This function is extremely critical in highly deviated well conditions and when using casing or tubing with high Rockwell hardness. Unlike setting devices that use explosives, military or governmental escorts are not required. In addition, single lift heli-operations can be used. This tool does not require radio silence operations, and there is no nonproductive time associated with tool re-dressing between runs. Tool sizes are available for well intervention in 2 3/8 in. tubing through 13 3/8 in. casing and can be tractor-conveyed in high angle or horizontal wells. Introduction Traditionally, the method of choice for setting packers, bridge plugs, and similar wellbore devices consisted of conveying an electrically-activated explosive-charge setting tool to the required depth on electric line and activating the explosive train (deflagration) by applying voltage or current to the e-line. Although this explosively activated setting tool has been used in the industry for many decades, it has many limitations and safety issues:Requires explosive activation • Requires special explosive transport and rig/well site explosive storageRequires radio and telecommunication silence on the rig during operationsRequires personnel trained to use explosivesSetting force decreases with increasing hydrostatic pressureSetting force is rapidly applied over a few seconds, which may not be sufficient time for slips and elastomers to conform and engage in the casing/tubing.High temperature operations can be more difficult to perform reliablyNeed to re-dress between runs

The identification of the free point in drill collars, drillpipe, tubing, or casing is critical for successful drilling recovery or abandonment operations. A new logging tool, available in the wireline service sector, has been developed and field tested that will help to cost-effectively identify a free point. The tool uses the property of steel called the magnetostrictive effect. When stress is applied to steel, the magnetization of the steel is modified. The procedure using the new tool requires two logging passes. The first logging pass records magnetization information about the pipe with the pipe in a neutral weight condition. The second logging pass records magnetization information with tension or torque applied to the pipe. When torque or tension is applied to pipe that can be stretched or torqued, its magnetostrictive properties change. If a section of the pipe cannot be stretched or torqued, magnetization effects remain unchanged. On this basis, the free point (the transition from pipe that can be stretched or torqued to pipe that cannot) is easily detected by comparing two logging passes. Previous free point determination methods required a series of stationary measurements with the pipe in a neutral weight condition, the application of stretch or torque, and the presence of a highly skilled pipe recovery expert on location. The new method simply involves an overlay of two logging passes before and after the pipe has been stretched or torqued. The tool has been successfully tested in steel alloys with minimal magnetic properties.This new logging tool has significant advantages. First, from a safety standpoint, the application of pipe stretch is applied for only a few minutes between logging passes, whereas legacy methods required numerous station measurements with the pipe being stretched. Secondly, because the determination of a free point requires a comparison of logging passes, real-time operations with constant satellite communications readily permits remotely-based operator and service company pipe recovery experts to be involved with plans for freeing the pipe. The new technology is independent of a highly skilled on-site pipe recovery expert and the delays associated with waiting for the expert to arrive on location.The tool is small in diameter, run centralized, and does not require weight bars added to the tool for slip engagement. These features shorten the length of the tool string and simplify e-line rig-up procedures. The short tool length has advantages in deviated well conditions in which pump down free point tool deployment may be required.

A new-generation electro-mechanical downhole power unit for setting and retrieving packers, bridge plugs, whipstocks, and other downhole devices has been recently developed and globally deployed. The new downhole power unit – Intelligent (DPU®-I system), is designed to operate at high temperatures and extreme high pressures (400°F, 30 Kpsi), while providing up to 100 Klbs of setting force. The high linear force for either setting or retrieving is independent of hydrostatic pressure and provides a cost-effective alternative to jointed-pipe interventions, which were previously required to obtain high setting forces. The e-line-conveyed DPU-I system, with its high setting force, has been successfully used numerous times in deepwater wells and has shown to save in excess of one day’s rig time for setting sump packers or other devices in ultra-deep well conditions compared to jointed-pipe intervention. New to the industry is the ability to monitor in real time at the wellsite and remotely via satellite communications the downhole line tension, tool acceleration, stroke length, the setting force, and the rate at which the force is being applied during the setting operation as well as the force at which the DPU-I system detaches from the downhole device. This allows well-completion experts to remotely monitor the setting or retrieval operations 24/7 and provides a record of the setting operation for risk mitigation and developing and improving best practices. The slow-controlled setting operation enables the slips or other anchoring mechanisms in the device to be set and to fully engage the casing/tubing and elastomer sealing elements to conform to the casing or tubing ID, which is extremely critical in highly-deviated well conditions and when casing or tubing with high-rockwell hardness is used. Unlike setting devices that use explosives, military or governmental escorts are not required. Single-lift, heli-operations can be used. Radio silence operations are not required, and there is no non-productive time associated with tool re-dressing between runs. Tool sizes are available for well intervention from 2–3/8–in. tubing through all casing sizes and can be tractor conveyed in high-angle or horizontal wells.

A new, small-diameter ultrasonic scanning logging tool has been field tested and commercially deployed for simultaneous cement-sheath and casing evaluation. The tool is designed for use in 9-5/8-in„ heavy-weight casing down to 4-1/2-in. casing. Enhancements in downhole electronics, computing capabilities, and telemetry transmission allow the new circumferential acoustic scanning tool to operate on 7/32-in., 5/16-in., and 9/32-in. mono-conductor e-line cables, which allow for the data acquisition to be performed off a small foot print cased-hole unit with a smaller, lighter tool at the same logging speed as previous generation tools run off a seven-conductor e-line cable on an open-hole unit. The enhanced portability and evaluation capability in casings as small as 4-1/2 in. make the system ideally suited for land operations. Analysis of the cement data is accomplished with the same statistical variance process that has been widely used over the years to analyze data provided by all ultrasonic logging tools available in the industry, resulting in a robust and easy-to-interpret computed product in traditional, light-weight, and foam cement. The cement-evaluation process uses the measured acoustic impedance of the material in the casing-formation annulus. The casing's internal diameter is obtained from the twoway travel time and the measured borehole-fluid travel time. The casing-wall thickness is determined from the frequency content of the reflected waveform data. Both internal diameter and wall thickness are used to determine internal and external casing wear. Legacy ultrasonic scanning tools could not provide quality data in small-diameter casing because of tool size and tool-fishing constraints and near-field transducer ring-down effects. A new, interactive job-planner program has been developed to optimize data acquisition for casing size, weight, and borehole fluids. The planner determines the number of shots per scan and maximum logging speed required for the tool to provide 100% circumferential coverage without sector gaps or interpolated data. Examples comparing the multi-conductor circumferential acoustic scanning tool and the mono-conductor circumferential acoustic scanning tool in conventional and nonconventional cement slurries are presented.

A new generation electro-mechanical downhole power unit for setting and retrieving packers, bridge plugs, whipstocks, subsea tree plugs, and other downhole devices has been recently developed and deployed. The new Downhole Power Unit-Intelligent, DPU ® -I tool, is designed to operate at high temperatures and extremely high pressures (400°F, 30 Kpsi) and to provide up to 100 K-lb f setting force. The increased force for either setting or retrieving downhole devices is independent of hydrostatic pressure and provides an alternative to jointed pipe or coiled tubing interventions, which were previously required to obtain high setting forces. New to the industry is the ability to monitor the downhole line tension, stroke length, setting force, the rate at which the force is being applied during the setting operation, and force at which the DPU-I tool detaches from the downhole device in real time at the wellsite or remotely by means of global satellite communications. This new functionality enables well-completion experts to remotely monitor the setting or retrieval operations 24 hours per day, seven days per week. It also provides a record of the setting operation for risk mitigation and for developing and improving best practices. This new downhole power unit conforms to our Digital Asset ® workflows used to model, measure, and optimize customer assets.The slow-controlled setting operation enables the slips or other anchoring mechanisms in the device to be set and to fully engage the casing/tubing and for the elastomer sealing elements to conform to the casing or tubing ID. This function is extremely critical in highly-deviated well conditions and when using casing or tubing with high rockwell hardness. Unlike setting devices that use explosives, military or governmental escorts are not required. In addition, single-lift heli-operations can be used. This tool does not require radio silence operations, and there is no non-productive time associated with tool redressing between runs. Tool sizes are available for well intervention in 2-3/8-in. tubing through 13-3/8-in. casing and can be tractor-conveyed in high-angle or horizontal wells.