Application of Ultra-High Speed Rotating Shoes Offshore Indonesia - A Case History

Abstract

This paper presents two recent cases studies for high-speed rotating shoes in the East Java Sea of Indonesia where extended reach wells have been successfully drilled and completed. Rotating shoes have been used to successfully deploy 5½ inch lower completion strings in Well A, Well B, and Well C, in 2020, 2022, and 2023 respectively. Well A had the 9⅝ inch casing shoe at 15,492 feet MD with the final depth of 16,480 feet MD. Well B is currently the longest 8½ inch production lateral drilled (6,207 feet) in Indonesia at the time of this paper with a final well depth of 15,685 feet MD. The 9⅝ inch production casing shoe was set at 9,478 feet MD. Well C was eventually completed at a final depth of 14,305 feet MD with 9⅝ inch casing shoe at 10,662 feet MD. All laterals were drilled as 8½ holes and completed as 5½ inch oil producers. In Well A, a rotating shoe was used as a contingency due to its high ERD ratio in comparison to previous wells drilled in the field up until that time. In Well B string rotation was not a feasible option due to well profile and the 5½ inch completions string configuration, hence the need for rotating shoes. In Well C well bore stability issues across zones prone to loss circulation resulted in multiple sidetracks from the primary borehole, one of which was carried in the production section, thus predicating the use of a rotating reamer shoe for the 5½ lower completion. Well C was eventually completed with the third sidetrack, at a final depth of 14,305 feet MD with the 9⅝ inch production casing shoe set at 10,662 feet MD. The liner hanger was successfully set with an estimated savings over $700K for successfully deploying the lower completions Well C as estimated cost of an additional clean-out run. One reason running lower completions in these wells are successful is the use of high-speed rotating shoes. When required the rotating shoe was able to ream through obstructions while guiding the completion string into and through the drilled hole to TD. Rotating shoes are still very new to the industry and adoption is slow. However, from our experience it is evident that deployment requires appreciation of the technology and the underlying principles that make it effective, thus creating an enabling environment for proper application is paramount. This requires collaboration between end-user and supplier with good understanding of well engineering principles because the service provider will be key to a successful operation. This paper focuses on the completion operations leading to the successful deployment of the 5½ inch lower completion strings in both Wells B and C.