Customer challenges
- In this campaign, wells were designed to drill 12 1/4” lateral sections as oil pre-set wells to the 9 5/8” casing point in a field environment composed of limestone, dolomite, andanhydrite (Sulaiy and Hith formations). At 10,250 feet, the well was the longest lateral planned in the customer’s history for this hole size. Without a proper hole-cleaning tool, this horizontal wellwould have experienced difficulty removing cuttings effectively. This inability might have resulted in a tight hole, stuck pipe, slower drilling, and/or excessive torque and drag on the drill-string, potentially preventing the operation from reaching total depth
- The objective was to sustain an 89° inclination from 11,002 feet to section total depth at 21,282 feet. All challenges of concern were associated with the hole cleaning process while drilling the long 12 1/4” lateral section
Expro Excellence
- In response to these challenges, it was recommended to install 37 of the 5.5” Series CBI™ tools at a frequency of one tool per three stands on the 5 7/8” Drill Pipe XT-57
Value to client
- With the use of Expro’s CBI™ tool, the customer was able to drill 10,250 feet of the 12 1/4” section successfully, without any hole cleaning issues (tight hole, stuck pipe, etc.). In comparison with an offset well the circulation time was reduced 10%, extensive reaming before each connection (twice per stand) was eliminated, and there was a substantial drop in pick-up weight as more CBI™ tools were exposed to the open hole section
- ECD trend significantly lower than simulated readings
- Open hole friction factor dropped from 0.40 at start to 0.25 at total depth
- Pill efficiency optimized from one pill at every stand, to one pill at every five stands
- No dedicated short/wiper trip performed due to thorough hole cleaning
