XT4™ GT connectors mitigate safety risks with advanced make-up profile

Well Construction

Customer challenges

Our customer, a major operator, required a quick delivery and reliable run of a surface casing string with large OD tubulars and 22” connections for their deepwater drilling campaign using a dynamically positioned (DP) drillship to drill a well in the Gulf of Mexico
They sought an advanced single-start, multi-turn connection solution in place of their standard 22” connections, which are multi-thread and require less than one turn to make-up. A replacement solution for this type of make-up profile was required to mitigate safety risks that arise while operating in deepwater environments, including rig movements due to the DP drillship, weather, currents, or extended hang off time in the rotary causing potential connection back-outs and dropped object incidents
Expro has a long-standing relationship with this customer as we have provided fabrication services of our pipe with our customer’s standard connectors since 2002
Our premium 22” x 1.00” XT4™ GT-90ksi connectors and pipe are highly engineered for complex deepwater operations, the long-standing relationship, and successful track record with Expro were contributing factors in our customer appointing us for this critical drilling campaign

Expro Excellence

Expro’s 22” XT4™ GT connectors are singlethread start with 3-1/2 turn make-up and has the capability to achieve high make-up torques of 76,000 ft-lbs. These features reduce the probability of connection back-outs caused by the DP drillship movements, weather, ocean currents, or extended hang-off time in the rotary
The standard connectors our customer typically use have a multi-start, 5/8 turn profile. Our 22” XT4™ GT connectors provide an advanced technological and cost-effective solution, easing their concerns and mitigating HSE risks while also helping to keep operational expenses low
After extensive evaluation and discussions between Expro and our customer’s engineering teams, we combined our advanced 22” x 1.00” XT4™ GT-90ksi connectors with our large OD, X-80 grade pipe, and fabrication services for a complete and reliable one-stop-solution for our customer. Coupled with our commitment to customer service and history of on-time delivery and reliability, Expro helped our customer execute an incident-free run and installation using a new solution, this differentiated from their standard single source selection

Value to client

Expro’s 22” x 1.00” XT4™ GT-90ksi on X-80 pipe was handled, made-up, and run without any issues or concern for 1,600 ft. Our customer experienced some operational difficulties unrelated to our connections while drilling the 22” hole section, requiring them to pull out of the hole
In turn, our pipe and connections were required to be hung off in the rotary for 11 hours and was done so without any connection back-outs or incidents. This is a testament to the performance and reliability of the highly engineered connectors and make-up profile
Once drilling operations resumed, the connections were run successfully in 4,375 ft of water with no issues, and with as-expected make-up turns and torques
Our 22” XT4™ GT connector was clearly differentiated as the most viable solution with minimal additional costs, offering high make-up torques for operations and gas sealability for offshore service
Positive environmental impacts of our technology were the requirement of less rig time for the make-up and running without anti-rotation keys

Customer challenges

Our customer, a major operator, required a quick delivery and reliable run of a surface casing string with large OD tubulars and 22” connections for their deepwater drilling campaign using a dynamically positioned (DP) drillship to drill a well in the Gulf of Mexico
They sought an advanced single-start, multi-turn connection solution in place of their standard 22” connections, which are multi-thread and require less than one turn to make-up. A replacement solution for this type of make-up profile was required to mitigate safety risks that arise while operating in deepwater environments, including rig movements due to the DP drillship, weather, currents, or extended hang off time in the rotary causing potential connection back-outs and dropped object incidents
Expro has a long-standing relationship with this customer as we have provided fabrication services of our pipe with our customer’s standard connectors since 2002
Our premium 22” x 1.00” XT4™ GT-90ksi connectors and pipe are highly engineered for complex deepwater operations, the long-standing relationship, and successful track record with Expro were contributing factors in our customer appointing us for this critical drilling campaign

Expro Excellence

Expro’s 22” XT4™ GT connectors are singlethread start with 3-1/2 turn make-up and has the capability to achieve high make-up torques of 76,000 ft-lbs. These features reduce the probability of connection back-outs caused by the DP drillship movements, weather, ocean currents, or extended hang-off time in the rotary
The standard connectors our customer typically use have a multi-start, 5/8 turn profile. Our 22” XT4™ GT connectors provide an advanced technological and cost-effective solution, easing their concerns and mitigating HSE risks while also helping to keep operational expenses low
After extensive evaluation and discussions between Expro and our customer’s engineering teams, we combined our advanced 22” x 1.00” XT4™ GT-90ksi connectors with our large OD, X-80 grade pipe, and fabrication services for a complete and reliable one-stop-solution for our customer. Coupled with our commitment to customer service and history of on-time delivery and reliability, Expro helped our customer execute an incident-free run and installation using a new solution, this differentiated from their standard single source selection

Value to client

Expro’s 22” x 1.00” XT4™ GT-90ksi on X-80 pipe was handled, made-up, and run without any issues or concern for 1,600 ft. Our customer experienced some operational difficulties unrelated to our connections while drilling the 22” hole section, requiring them to pull out of the hole
In turn, our pipe and connections were required to be hung off in the rotary for 11 hours and was done so without any connection back-outs or incidents. This is a testament to the performance and reliability of the highly engineered connectors and make-up profile
Once drilling operations resumed, the connections were run successfully in 4,375 ft of water with no issues, and with as-expected make-up turns and torques
Our 22” XT4™ GT connector was clearly differentiated as the most viable solution with minimal additional costs, offering high make-up torques for operations and gas sealability for offshore service
Positive environmental impacts of our technology were the requirement of less rig time for the make-up and running without anti-rotation keys

Contact

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