Maximizing Production with 13Cr Solid Expandable Tubulars in Sarawak Gas Fields

Bada, Inyau; Maekiaho, Leo; Ain, Fitzerald Mathew; Nijveld, Erik; Tan, Ivan; Book, Larry; Dubedout, Laurent

doi:10.2118/88027-ms

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…expandable gas-tight connections with metal-to-metal seal), to provide a larger production conduit in wells that are tubing constrained, resulting in an increase in well capacity of 50%. 2 One application in 2004 was executed to gain local operational experience with solid expandable openhole liner systems in a well in the St. Joseph field in Sabah. A 7-5/8 x 9-5/8 in.…”

Section: Solid Expandable Tubular Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solid Expandable Tubular Technology: Case Histories of Value-Adding and Enabling Applications in Sabah Deepwater Campaign

Miessner¹,

Erivwo²,

Wenting³

et al. 2006

Proceedings of IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition

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Section: Solid Expandable Tubular Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solid Expandable Tubular Technology: Case Histories of Value-Adding and Enabling Applications in Sabah Deepwater Campaign

Miessner¹,

Erivwo²,

Wenting³

et al. 2006

Proceedings of IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition

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Solid Expandable Tubular Technology: Case Histories of Value-Adding and Enabling Applications in Sabah Deepwater Campaign

Miessner

Erivwo

Wenting

et al. 2006

IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition

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Solid expandable tubular technology has seen an impressive uptake in recent years. The technology has the potential to reduce cost, increase production and give access to new reserves. In 2004/2005, Shell Malaysia Exploration & Production installed solid expandables in seven wells, putting itself at the forefront of the technology and adding significant value to the business. The design philosophy that has been adopted in Shell Malaysia can be described as:Use solid expandables as a planned-in contingency application in case the "trouble zone or event" is encountered. This approach allows for planning of aggressive well designs that fall back to expandables to mitigate problems.Use solid expandables in base-case casing design for deepwater wells with more than 5,000 to 6,000 ft below mud line and with four casing string design. This paper describes four case histories of solid expandable tubular technology for the Sabah Deepwater exploration campaign in Malaysia. The technology was successfully applied and was very instrumental in achieving the well objectives and delivering a successful exploration campaign. The key to this success was strong management support throughout the process. This took the form of creating an enabling environment to taking on board new technology and also by supporting actions to build up solid expandable tubular stock in the region to be able to quickly react to opportunities. Technology support in Malaysia was provided through representation of Shell's Global Implementation Team for solid expandables, making sure that global lessons were shared and best practices were applied. The Global Implementation Team also worked closely together with the technology provider on QA/QC and job planning aspects, which helped to keep a 100% success record with solid expandables tubulars for Shell in Malaysia. Introduction In 2004, Shell and its partners started an exploration campaign in Sabah Deepwater, offshore NW Borneo, Malaysia. Figure 1 indicates the location of the block. Shell Malaysia acted as the operator of the block on behalf of the partnership. Drilling took place in water depths ranging from 1,931 to 4,831 ft. The Sabah Deepwater area is characterized by elongated NE-SW toe thrusts that parallel the NW Borneo Trough and shelf edge. The age of these thrusts is from middle/late to recent Miocene. Turbidite sediments have been deposited from mid-Miocene to the present and are both unconfined and confined in character and controlled by the timing of the thrust structures. The limited accommodation space along the narrow shelf caused eroded sands from the mountainous hinterland regions of Sabah and the inboard area to cascade over the shelf edge into the toe-of-slope and basin floor through a system of upper slope feeder channels and canyons. The onset of toe thrusting becomes younger outward and pre-deformation turbidite sands are unconfined sheets in a toe-of-slope depositional environment leading to a clastic sequence of rapidly stacked reservoirs. Basin modelling indicated that the toe-thrust structures within the Sabah Deepwater trapped hydrocarbons migrating from a mature source kitchen in the deep basinal trough. The trapped formation pressure, with the addition of basin inflationary overpressure trends from background aquifer overpressures within the individual reservoir units, yielded a pore-pressure prediction with possible steep changes in overpressures with formation depth. These geological characteristics and the overlying water depth posed three major drilling challenges:Weak formation strengths in the shallow sections as a result of the reduced overburden stressSharp predictions of pore-pressure transition in the stacked reservoirsNarrow drilling margin from the formation strengths and predicted formation pressures with the increasing probability of losses and well control problems during drilling

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Solid Expandables Repair Prolific Subsea Gas Producer

Velden¹,

Furniss

2007

SPE Offshore Europe Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition

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A working window of opportunity only presents itself from April to mid-September in the turbulent Atlantic waters off the northwest coast of Ireland. When this window opened in Spring 2006, Shell E&P Ireland Ltd began operations to evaluate newly acquired assets in the Corrib field dry-gas subsea development. Prior to acquisition, five wells had been placed in suspension, pending construction of the necessary subsea and onshore infrastructure. Shell had previously determined that only three wells were viable candidates for completion during the current season and commenced operations when the S711 semi-submersible arrived on location in April. The clock started ticking on favorable weather and time quickly became a crucial constraint issue. The project hit a critical mark when a leak was discovered in the 9–5/8 in. production casing on one of the early wells entered. With time running out, Shell approached Enventure to engineer a practical solution that was required within a period of six weeks. Possible solutions for recovery were identified and analyzed before the project management team decided on using solid expandable technology. The solution for this well needed to deliver a production casing string that effectively sealed off the hole. To accomplish this requirement with expandable tubulars, Shell decided to use the Enventure system elastomers for the gas-tight integrity, which required qualification. In approximately six weeks, Enventure and Shell planned and implemented the appropriate tests, coordinated logistical maneuvers to expedite expansions to create the test specimen for qualification and successfully installed the actual system in the production well. This paper will discuss the process used to bring the project to fruition within a tight timeframe. Details will include issues considered, ramifications of possible options, challenges of the operating conditions and circumstances and content and results of the qualification program. This paper will also discuss the philosophical approach of generating a workflow to successfully achieve the stated goals in a short amount of time. Introduction In June 2006, Shell encountered a leak in the 9–5/8 in. production casing in one of its West Atlantic, deepwater subsea wells. The dry gas well is capable of producing in excess of 100 million standard cubic feet per day. The leak, identified after taking the well out of suspension, disappointed the project team as progress to run completion and ultimately put the well in production came to an abrupt halt. After eliminating the possibility of it being in the liner lap, the leak was chased to approximately 1,500m (~4,920 ft) using a DLT packer. In order to progress the campaign, Shell temporarily suspended the well to decide whether to attempt to regain integrity of the production casing or put the well in long term suspension for possible abandonment. After putting the well into suspension, management considered the following four options to address the situation:Abandon and re-drill the wellCut and pull the 9–5/8 in. casingUse a tie-back liner solutionInstall a solid expandable cased-hole liner system Because of time restrictions and the lack of equipment availability with three of the options, Shell chose the solid expandable tubular solution that could be tested, delivered and installed in the timeframe and provide the most robust engineering solution. Although Shell had decided on a definitive approach to the casing leak, several issues needed to be addressed before the solid expandable solution could be implemented. The elastomer technology on the expandable liner selected, specifically Enventure 's 7–5/8 x 9–5/8 in. solid expandable system, had been used in similar scenarios1,2,3,4 but was not qualified to Shell standards. Another issue identified was the lack of gas-tight connections for any expandable casing. Also, several load cases were outside the expandable envelope. Shell and Enventure personnel used innovative engineering to confront the obstacles and to successfully resolve the technical challenges.

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Maximizing Production with 13Cr Solid Expandable Tubulars in Sarawak Gas Fields

Cited by 6 publications

References 2 publications

Solid Expandable Tubular Technology: Case Histories of Value-Adding and Enabling Applications in Sabah Deepwater Campaign

Solid Expandable Tubular Technology: Case Histories of Value-Adding and Enabling Applications in Sabah Deepwater Campaign

Solid Expandable Tubular Technology: Case Histories of Value-Adding and Enabling Applications in Sabah Deepwater Campaign

Solid Expandables Repair Prolific Subsea Gas Producer

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