Analysis of Buoyancy-Assisted Casings and Liners in Mega-Reach Wells

SPE Eastern Regional Meeting

Ryen

Sparks

2011

Operators today face an ever-increasing demand for locating commercial reserves and producing those reserves with an emphasis on exploration and development costs. In addition to basic financial pressures, operators also strive to reduce the environmental impact of well-construction and production operations. Extended-reach drilling technology allows operators to reach recoverable reserves that were previously unreachable. Specifically, extended-reach drilling from a multipad wellsite allows significant portions of the well-construction costs to be distributed throughout multiple wells rather than being carried by an individual wellbore. Also, the capability to drill multiple wells from a single pad reduces the environmental impact of the drilling operation.Extending the wellbore reach from a given pad depends on the location of the target formation. Depth, horizontal distance, and production type significantly affect the type of drilling program, as well as the casing-running operation. Casing flotation is a proven technology that has been deployed in multiple fields around the world to extend the attainable lateral reach of the casing-running operation. In many wells where flotation is required, the common limiting factor that determines the maximum step out that can be achieved is based on available hook load or weight in the near-vertical section of the well. However, when smaller casing strings are used, the limiting factor is not available weight, but rather the buckling limits of the casing. In some cases, slackoff loads with small casing strings cause helical buckling and lockup of the casing before reaching total depth (TD). This paper documents the use of flotation technology in several wells where buckling limits and subsequent casing lockup was averted to allow successful casing-running operations to be performed without the requirement of costly premium torque-shouldered connections. Additionally, the paper presents improved processes used successfully that significantly increased operational efficiencies before cementing operations. Detailed prejob planning and computer simulations are provided to demonstrate the limits without casing flotation and the stepout achieved with casing flotation.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Buoyancy Technology Used Effectively in Casing-Running Operations to Extend Lateral Step-Out: Multiple Case Histories Detail Application Risks, Successes, and Improved Operation Procedures

SPE Eastern Regional Meeting

Ryen

Sparks

2011

Buoyancy Technology Used Effectively in Casing Running Operations to Extend Lateral Stepout: Two Case Histories Detail Application Risks and Successes

SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition

Webb

Strickland

et al. 2011

Operators today face an ever-increasing demand for locating commercial reserves and producing those reserves with attention to exploration and development costs. In addition to basic financial pressures, operators also strive to reduce the environmental impact of well construction and production operations. Extended-reach drilling technology allows operators to reach recoverable reserves that, in the past, were unreachable. Specifically, extended-reach drilling from a multipad wellsite allows significant portions of the well-construction costs to be distributed amongst multiple wells, rather than being carried by an individual wellbore. Also, the capability to drill multiple wells from a single pad reduces the environmental impact of the drilling operation. Extending wellbore reach from a given pad depends on the location of the target formation. Depth, horizontal distance, and production type significantly affect the type of drilling program as well as the casing running operation. Casing flotation is a proven technology that has been deployed in fields around the world to extend the attainable lateral reach of the casing running operation. In many wells, the buckling limits of the casing being run, rather than insufficient hook load, prevent successful casing running operations from pushing the casing into the lateral section. In some cases, slack-off loads with small casing strings cause helical buckling and lock-up of the casing before reaching total depth. This paper documents the use of flotation technology in several wells where casing lock-up caused by buckling limits was averted to allow successful casing running operations to be performed without the requirement of costly premium torque-shouldered connections. Detailed prejob planning and computer simulations are provided to demonstrate the limits without casing flotation and the step out achieved with it.

Buoyancy Technology Used Effectively in Casing Running Operations: Case History of Record Length Two-Stage Production Casing String

SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition

Shaikh

Faraj

et al. 2016

Operators today face an ever increasing demand for locating commercial reserves and producing those reserves with attention to exploration and development costs. In addition to basic financial pressures, operators also strive to reduce the environmental impact of well construction and production operations. Extended-reach drilling technology allows operators to reach recoverable reserves that, in the past, were unreachable. Specifically, extended-reach drilling from a multi-pad wellsite allows significant portions of the well construction costs to be spread over multiple wells, rather than being carried by an individual wellbore. Also, the ability to drill multiple wells from a single pad helps reduce the environmental impact from the drilling operation. Extending the wellbore reach from a given pad depends on the location of the target formation. Depth, horizontal distance, and production type significantly affect the type of drilling program as well as the casing running operation. In many wells, drag between the casing and wellbore prevents casing running operations from being performed. Casing flotation is a proven technology that has been deployed in multiple fields globally to extend the attainable lateral reach of the casing running operation. This paper documents using flotation technology in combination with two-stage cementing tools in production wells where drag limits and subsequent casing lock up were averted to allow successful casing running operations to be performed. Detailed pre-job planning and computer simulations are provided to demonstrate the technical limits and step-out achieved with casing flotation.