A Challenging Drilling Campaign Unleashed a Unique Fast Drill String Recovery Methodology Eliminating Utilizing Wireline, CT and Overcome Highly Deviated String Accessibility

Abstract

Stuck pipe is one of the biggest challenges in the drilling sector and is a multi-billion-dollar issue. Recovering from stuck pipe absorbs significant cost and time. Durations for stuck pipe events and recovery can be mostly variable from a few days to up to over a month to resolve. When attempts to release the stuck pipe by jarring or acid fail, the operating company and drilling contractors are left with little option but to sever the drill string and prepare for side-track operations or even abandon the hole. Traditional pipe severance methods in the event of a stuck pipe situation typically take significant time (often days, and sometimes weeks), require specialist tools, Service Hands, and are usually reliant on wireline services to deliver the severance method. In 2018, a Major Operating Company in UAE faced a challenging high-sticking Formation, which caused massive NPT, stuck of drill strings, and loss of drilled section holes. Brainstorming within the Drilling Engineering team took the campaign to the next level of pre-planning to reach deep access in the hole to be able to achieve zonal isolation by spotting cement plugs through drilling BHA, find a solution to save the hole and recover the pipes in an efficient, cheap and productive manner. An environmentally safe pre-planned solution to severe the drill string was proposed to help save the wells and allow an excellent methodology to save the wells/fields from stuck pipe risks. The engineering solution allows a fast recovery of drill pipes using a downhole tool as a part of drilling BHA, with the option to activate it if required, by dropping a smart dart and circulating with mud for a specific time to apply cut string with two option, either spotting cement with recovered BHA or lift BHA with fish neck to try to fish in the hole.