Buoyancy Technology Used Effectively in Casing Running Operations to Extend Lateral Stepout: Two Case Histories Detail Application Risks and Successes

Rogers, Henry Eugene; Webb, Earl Don; Strickland, Derrick; Sparks, Dale E.

doi:10.2118/148541-ms

Cited by 4 publications

References 8 publications

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Extending Lateral Length Using Casing Floatation to Reduce Field Development Cost in Shale Gas Plays

Blake

2014

All Days

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Operating in a low margin gas environment, operators look for new ways to reduce costs and efficiently develop reserves. Shell Canada Limited ("Shell"), operating in the Montney shale gas field located in NE British Columbia, Canada, used casing floatation techniques to extend lateral lengths. Increasing lateral length reduces well cost per lateral meter. This is because drilling the reservoir section is the least expensive segment due to high penetration rates. Extended lateral lengths also create new options for more economical and sustainable field development as fewer wells are required to cover acreage and it reduces dead space. Shell uses a mono-bore casing design with average lateral lengths of 1800m at a TVD of 2300m. The goal of the project was to double lateral length to 3600m. At these depths, extending much beyond the current design is not possible due to theoretical casing lock-up from excess drag during conventional casing running. Casing floatation was chosen to extend the lateral reach of the wells and mitigate casing lock up because it is a cost effective, simple technology. Casing rotation and setting a deep intermediate string to reduce drag were also evaluated but deemed too cost prohibitive or technically unfeasible. This paper documents the process and successful results of Shell's undertaking in doubling lateral length using casing floatation technology on five test wells in the area. It also provides detailed evaluation of post-run data to calibrate casing running models and the future impact of these results on an economical field development.

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Extending Lateral Length Using Casing Floatation to Reduce Field Development Cost in Shale Gas Plays

Blake

2014

All Days

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Single Trip Deployment of Multi-Stage Completion Liners Through the Used of Interventionless Flotation Collars

Tait

Munawar

2021

Day 1 Tue, September 21, 2021

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Due to challenging market conditions, the drilling and completion industry has needed to put forth innovative deployment strategies in horizontal multi-stage completions. In difficult wellbores, the traditional method for deploying liners was to run drill pipe. The case studies discussed in this paper detail an alternative method to deploy liners in a single trip on the tieback string so the operator can reduce the overall costs of deployment. Previously, this was not practical because the tieback string weight could not overcome the wellbore friction in horizontal applications. In each case, a flotation collar is required to ensure there is enough hook load for deployment of the liner system. The flotation collars used are an interventionless design, utilizing a tempered glass barrier that shatters at a pre-determined applied pressure. The glass debris can be easily circulated through the well without damaging downhole components. This is done commonly on cemented liner and cemented monobore installations, but more rarely with open hole multi-stage completions. For open hole multi-stage completions, the initial installation typically requires an activation tool at the bottom of the well to set the hydraulically activated equipment above. Multiple validation tests were completed prior to installation by using an activation tool and flotation collar to ensure the debris could be safely circulated through the internals without closing the activation tool. These activation tools have relatively limited flow area and could cause an issue if the glass debris were to accumulate and shift it closed prematurely. Premature closing of the tool would leave expensive drilling fluids in contact with the reservoir, potentially harming production. For the test, the flotation collar was placed only two pup joints away from the activation tool, resulting in a worst-case scenario where a large amount of debris could potentially encounter the internals of the activation tool at one time. In a downhole environment the flotation collar is typically installed near the build or heel of the well, depending on wellbore geometry. The testing was successfully completed, and the activation tool showed no signs of loading. This resulted in a full-scale trial in the field where a 52 stage, open hole (OH) multi-stage fracturing (MSF) liner was deployed using this technology. Through close collaboration with the operator, an acceptable procedure was established to safely circulate the glass debris and further limit the risk of prematurely closing the activation tool. This paper discusses the OH and cemented MSF deployment challenges, detailed lab testing, and field qualification trials for the single trip deployed system. It also highlights operational procedures and best practices when deploying the system in this fashion. A method to calibrate a torque and drag model will also be explored as part of this discussion.

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Single Trip Deployment of Multistage Completion Liners Through the Use of Interventionless Flotation Collars

Tait

Munawar

2021

SPE Drilling &Amp; Completion

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Summary In difficult wellbores, the traditional method for deploying liners was to run drillpipe. The case studies discussed in this paper detail an alternative method to deploy liners in a single trip on the tieback string so the operator can reduce the overall costs of deployment. Previously, this was not often practical because the tieback string weight could not overcome the wellbore friction in horizontal applications. In each case, a flotation collar is required to ensure there is enough hookload for the deployment of the liner system. The flotation collars used are an interventionless design using a tempered glass barrier that shatters at a predetermined applied pressure. The glass debris is between 5 and 10 mm in diameter and can be easily circulated through the well without damaging downhole components. This is done commonly on a cemented liner and cemented monobore installations, but more rarely with openhole multistage completions. The authors of this paper have overseen thousands of cemented applications of this technology in Western Canada, the US onshore, Latin America, and the Middle East. For openhole multistage completions, the initial installation typically requires a ball drop activation tool at the bottom of the well to set the hydraulically activated equipment above. The effects of circulating the glass debris through one specific style of activation tool were investigated. Activation tools typically have a limited flow area and could prematurely close if the glass debris accumulates. Premature closing of the tool would leave drilling fluids in contact with the reservoir, potentially harming production. The testing was successfully completed, and the activation tool showed no signs of loading. This resulted in a full-scale trial in the field, where a 52-stage, openhole multistage fracturing liner was deployed using this technology. Through close collaboration with the operator, an acceptable procedure was established to safely circulate the glass debris and further limit the risk of prematurely closing the activation tool. This paper discusses the openhole and cemented multistage fracturing completion deployment challenges, laboratory testing, and field qualification trials for the single trip deployed system. It also highlights operational procedures and best practices when deploying the system in this fashion.

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Buoyancy Technology Used Effectively in Casing Running Operations to Extend Lateral Stepout: Two Case Histories Detail Application Risks and Successes

Cited by 4 publications

References 8 publications

Extending Lateral Length Using Casing Floatation to Reduce Field Development Cost in Shale Gas Plays

Extending Lateral Length Using Casing Floatation to Reduce Field Development Cost in Shale Gas Plays

Single Trip Deployment of Multi-Stage Completion Liners Through the Used of Interventionless Flotation Collars

Single Trip Deployment of Multistage Completion Liners Through the Use of Interventionless Flotation Collars

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