In the Bay of Campeche, Mexico Marine operators have recently commenced the development of their high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) oil and gas fields in order to meet the high demand. These new developments present tough conditions for all aspects of well drilling and completion activities. They are particularly challenging for performing well intervention, which have driven operators, manufacturing and service companies to develop innovative strategies for servicing these fields. For HPHT well developments, electric line conveyed guns is the most common technique employed to perforate wells in the area, whether dynamic or static conditions. Nevertheless, coiled tubing (CT) deployed perforating has been recently employed as a reliable option in the following cases:Electric line is not a technically suitable option due to the limited magnitude of under-balance at which it can safely operate.Drag and buoyancy forces encountered in the wellbore are close to the operational limits of the cable.Wellbore tortuosity, tubular restrictions and well configuration render electric line unable to access perforation target depth. Initially, this paper discusses the workflow for performing technical analysis to develop safe and economical CT conveyed perforating operations for HPHT wells in offshore Mexico, which considers CT string design, surface equipment, well control equipment and associated downhole tools. It then presents case histories and lessons learned. And finally, provides conclusions and recommendations from the experiences gained for performing HPHT CT deployed perforating activities in Mexico Marine. Introduction HPHT define well conditions above what is considered normal levels of pressure and temperature. For Mexico Marine operators any well intervention with wellhead pressure (WHP) above 3,500 psi and bottomhole temperature over 150 oC (BHT) is considered HPHT. The Bay of Campeche is located at the southeast of Mexico in the continental platform of the Gulf of Mexico in front of Tabasco, Campeche and Yucatan coasts (Fig. 1). In 2004 Mexico Marine operators started to develop in the Bay of Campeche a significant number of fields that meet HPHT definition. In Mexico Marine HPHT fields, electric line conveyed gun is the most common technique employed to perforate wells. However, CT conveyed perforating has been recently proved as an excellent option in cases where electric line restricts under-balance magnitude for safe operation, drag and buoyancy forces encountered in the wellbore are close to the operational limits of the cable, and tubular restrictions and well configurations may be a concern to access perforation target depth. Mexico Marine HPHT Environment HPHT developments (Fig. 2) in the Bay of Campeche target Cretaceous (K) and Upper Jurassic Kimmeridgian (UJK) formations. Cretaceous is a naturally fractured carbonate formation ranging depths from 4,500 to 5,500 m with Porosity ranges from 3.0 to 5.0% and Permeability of 18 md. Upper Jurassic Kimmeridgian is a dolomitized carbonate formation in Oolitic banks from 5,000 to 6,000 m, where Porosity ranges 5.0 to 8.0% with Permeability from 20 to 40 md. The new fields under development are highly pressurized with bottomhole pressure (BHP) from 10,000 to 12,000 psi and BHT up to 190 oC. In surface, shut-in pressures from 6,000 to 8,500 psi have been recorded, and hydrocarbon production is composed by gas and oil from 27.0 to 48.0 oAPI. Drilling operations are performed by jackup rigs from eight-leg fixed platforms in water depths up to 60 m. Well deviation ranges 0 to 60 o, and jackup rigs are also the most common structures available for well completion and workover operations. These rigs have a limited crane capacity of 30 ton to lift and position CT string onboard.
Since its initial discovery in 1975, Offshore Mexico has been the most important oil producing region in the country, with production peaking at 2.8 MBOPD in 2003. However, since 2004, production has been quickly dropping and showing signs of field maturity; current production rate is at 1.8 MBOPD. Coiled tubing (CT) intervention had been typically required to keep production rates steady or even achieve improvement. In 2003, the operator and CT service provider formed a joint venture to put efforts to enable innovative solutions for addressing the challenges of this region. The document discusses the various industry drivers that necessitated service improvements and technology introductions for successful CT well intervention over the last ten years. This paper focuses on the following areas: Drilling and workover environment: Extension of CT interventions in low-pressures to high-pressure wells (self imposed maximum potential wellhead pressures above 3,500-psi) Expansion of Offshore rigless interventions (from conventional operations on fixed platforms to boat-based operations) Extension of CT interventions from fixed-deck to deepwater floater operations CT Applications Conformance applications for water shut-offs and subsequent new perforations Logging interventions in long horizontal sections Real time downhole measurements during well interventions with CT equipped with fiber optic telemetry systems replacing downhole memory gauges CT Equipment Improvements Surface equipment improvements from conventional CT equipment to "latest generation" automated CT unit with active process control and safety systems In summary, this paper presents an overview of the past, a review of the present and discussion of the anticipated future of CT services in the Offshore Mexico region in the context of short, medium and long term technical challenges are presented in several case studies.
Over the last years the oil and gas Mexican operator's exploration and development programs are becoming more challenging due to the complex conditions where hydrocarbons are found today. One of the areas that have seen a decline on production over the years is the offshore. As an alternative to find new sources of oil that overcome the current production decline in the area, the operator is drilling new wells where the operational capabilities of the equipment are put out of their limits. These new wells are drilled at depths beyond the conventional 5,000-m (16,400-ft) with bottom hole pressures as high as 15,000-psi and temperature over 180ºC requiring that the equipment providing the services over their producing life reach their own limitations and in some cases re-engineering of the design and process has to be done.In some cases, minimum changes to the equipment or processes are enough; however, a service of such complexity as the use of Coiled Tubing (CT) requires a major review of all the components of the operation to be completed in order to reach the new targets without jeopardizing the safety of the operations and/or compromising the production of the well. This paper details the CT string design criteria to reach the deeper vertical depths with high wellbore mechanical friction coefficients while withstanding high pressures; equipment selection, to allow greater CT length capacity on reel and higher pulling capacity on injector head; platform and crane specifications to withstand over dimensioned equipment, as well as, a case study to analyze equipment and CT string performance for interventions on these types of wells.
fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractIn the Bay of Campeche, Mexico Marine operators have recently commenced the development of their high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) oil and gas fields in order to meet the high demand. These new developments present tough conditions for all aspects of well drilling and completion activities. They are particularly challenging for performing well intervention, which have driven operators, manufacturing and service companies to develop innovative strategies for servicing these fields.For HPHT well developments, electric line conveyed guns is the most common technique employed to perforate wells in the area, whether dynamic or static conditions. Nevertheless, coiled tubing (CT) deployed perforating has been recently employed as a reliable option in the following cases: • Electric line is not a technically suitable option due to the limited magnitude of under-balance at which it can safely operate. • Drag and buoyancy forces encountered in the wellbore are close to the operational limits of the cable. • Wellbore tortuosity, tubular restrictions and well configuration render electric line unable to access perforation target depth. Initially, this paper discusses the workflow for performing technical analysis to develop safe and economical CT conveyed perforating operations for HPHT wells in offshore Mexico, which considers CT string design, surface equipment, well control equipment and associated downhole tools. It then presents case histories and lessons learned. And finally, provides conclusions and recommendations from the experiences gained for performing HPHT CT deployed perforating activities in Mexico Marine.
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