In 2007, Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) began drilling operations on B-16 57 (OPA2). The plan involved drilling and completing an oil producer to 32,000-ft measured depth (MD) and to a total vertical depth (TVD) and horizontal departure that would put the well outside the worldwide ERD envelope. The well was temporarily plugged and abandoned at ~20,000 ft in the 12¼-in. hole section as a result of a combination of factors including complex geology and wellbore instability.The planning of the redrill began almost immediately and involved the collaborative efforts of the local drill team, the local geoscience team, industry experts from ExxonMobil, and the other HMDC co-venturers and service providers. The final trajectory was a result of HMDC co-venturer collaboration and balanced risk associated with encountering unstable zones and complex lithology. Successfully drilling this well would require an engineered approach to operations as well as incorporating an ultra thin fluid system in the 8½-in. hole section.The successful execution of the redrill was a result of enhanced cooperation between the operations, engineering, and geoscience teams. The application of proven HMDC and ExxonMobil practices for hole cleaning, rate of penetration (ROP) management, and wellbore stability were critical success factors. The increased focus on downhole mechanics and surface limitations through the ExxonMobil Fast Drill Process and the flat time reduction initiative allowed OPA2 to be completed successfully at a depth of 33,209-ft MD, further extending the worldwide ERD envelope. Application of the drill team's standard bit and bottomhole assembly (BHA) design allowed shock and vibration and mechanical specific energy (MSE) to be minimized, resulting in field record rates of penetration (ROPs). Most notably, the 8½-in. hole section was drilled in one shoe-to-shoe bit run in 5.7 days. The nearest offset, completed in 2003 in the same geologic fault block, required eight bit runs and 57.6 days from drill out to TD.
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