Stuck pipe is often encountered during drilling operations and can cost operators millions of dollars to remediate. Particularly in remote locations, it can take weeks to deploy necessary equipment and personnel to resolve the issue, resulting in costly operational downtime.
During a recent remote drilling project in North America, an operator drilling a well required a contingency solution to be quickly accessed and used in the event of a stuck pipe incident. The company deployed Coretrax’s HyPR Holesaver to support its operations.
Solution
The 6-5/8” Reg HyPR Holesaver was selected, ensuring that non-productive time on the rig would be kept to an absolute minimum during a stuck pipe occurrence. The hydraulic pipe recovery system is a pre-placed sub within the BHA that, when activated, redirects the flow of ordinary mud to create a high velocity radial jet of fluid to cut the string in just a few hours.
The solution enables operators to re-start fishing or cementing operations almost immediately and unlike conventional methods, it does not require wireline equipment or explosives to sever the string.
Operation
While back reaming out of hole with a 14.75” x 17.5” BHA, the operator’s string became stuck at 8,000ft at an inclination of 81.5° degrees. Attempts were made to free the string through jarring, spotting lubricants and applying overpull. However, after more than 70 hours of attempting to free the string with no success, the operator decided to activate the HyPR.
The HyPR dart was deployed and circulation was established at an average rate of 645gpm (10.4ppg WBM) to allow for the severance process to begin.
Achievements
The HyPR Holesaver severed the stuck pipe within five hours, maximizing hole recovery and allowing the operator to continue with drilling operations. It successfully reduced the requirement for high energy sources such as explosives and the need for specialist wireline crews, delivering valuable rig time savings and reduced risk to the asset and crew.
