Successful Drilling of the Deepest and Hottest HPHT Carbonate Well in Central Luconia, Off the Coast of Sarawak, Offshore Malaysia

Abstract

HPHT wells are typically associated with high complexity, technically challenging, long duration, high risk and high NPT as many things could go wrong especially when any of the critical nitty- gritty details are overlooked. The complexity is amplified with high risk of losses in carbonate reservoir with high level of contaminants compounded by the requirement of high mud weight above 17 ppg during monsoon season in an offshore environment. The above sums up the challenges an operator had to manage in a groundbreaking HPHT carbonate appraisal well which had successfully pushed the historical envelope of such well category in Central Luconia area, off the coast of Sarawak where one of the new records of the deepest and hottest carbonate HPHT well had been created. This well took almost 4 months to drill with production testing carried out in a safe and efficient manner whereby more than 4000m of vertical interval was covered by 6 hole sections. With the seamless support from host authority, JV partners and all contractors, the well was successfully delivered within the planned duration and cost, despite the extreme challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper will share the experience of the entire cycle from pre job engineering/planning, execution and key lesson learnt for future exploitations.