Innovative Expandable Liner-Hanger Application Saves Time on Pinedale Anticline Drilling Operations: Two Case Studies

Nida, Ron; Meijs, Raymund; Reed, Shawn; Arnold, Bill Walter

doi:10.2118/90192-ms

Cited by 12 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 5 publications

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“…Fig. 1 Common liner hanger Liner hanger had been developed in china since the late 1970s and early 1980s, now there are some liner hangers with our own intellectual property rights [2]. Fig.…”

Section: Mechanical Liner Hanger Hydraulic Liner Hangermentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Development of Liner Hanger Technologies

Zhong

Xiao

et al. 2011

AMR

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As an important tool in well cementing, liner hanger has always received much attention. The article will review the development history of liner hanger briefly, describe the foreign new-type liner hangers, and discuss the expandable liner hanger in detail. It will also introduce some liner hangers and their accessories with our own intellectual property rights, and finally point out the future development direction of liner hanger in our country.

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Section: Mechanical Liner Hanger Hydraulic Liner Hangermentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Development of Liner Hanger Technologies

Zhong

Xiao

et al. 2011

AMR

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First Application of New Expandable Liner Hanger Technology in Deepwater HP/HT Well of Egypt

Waheed

Moore²,

Chacon

et al. 2008

All Days

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This paper discusses the application of a new expandable liner hanger system in a deepwater, high-pressure, high-temperature (HP/HT) well in the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt. At the time of its application in early April 2007, it was the first expandable liner hanger set in Egypt and the industry's first, deepest set depth (4870 m) for the 7 5/8-in. liner hanger size. A majority of the liners run in this area for this operator can be classified as drilling liners that allow the well to be "cased off" at key points in the drilling sequence so that drilling can progress safely to its target depth. This case history is about setting a liner across a weak (lost circulation) zone and a high-pressure kick (saltwater) zone drilled in the same hole section. The liner hanger operation was deemed critical especially after having had an issue in the last hole section in setting a conventional 9 7/8-in. liner hanger packer resulting in 2.1 days of NPT (nonproductive time). It was important to get proper isolation of both the formations and the liner lap and the placement of the liner in the desired position to avoid having issues drilling ahead. The expandable liner hanger (ELH) offers a significant departure in design from a conventional system. The mechanics of the ELH system eliminates the potential of a premature set of the hanger. Moreover, it eliminates the normal operating procedures of testing conventional liner tops and "dressing" cement left on top of the liner—operations that require a substantial amount of time and money to accomplish before drilling ahead can resume. This paper will discuss the expandable liner system in detail with an insight into its design, operating procedures, its simplicity, and the benefits it provides even in difficult well conditions such as this case history. Introduction The liner running operations in Egypt are not much different than elsewhere in the world. They are plagued with similar incidences of liner job failure; namely:Lap squeeze-leaky lapShoe squeezeStuck liner while running inWiper plug did not release or bump.Packer, hanger, centralization, premature set, or failure to setLost circulationCementing issues The most recent problem faced in the previous hole section of this well was that the liner top packer would not set, and therefore, a test could not be achieved on the top of the liner. The setting procedure for the liner-top packer varies with different models, but essentially in a mechanically set packer, it involves engaging the "lugs" in the setting tool with the internal matching recesses of the packer assembly. Once engaged, the tool is manipulated (i.e., rotation of pipe), and weight is slacked off on the packer for its expansion. Depending on the well conditions, the engagement does not often occur in the first attempt for various reasons (e.g., LCM in the mud, barite settling, thick mud, etc), and the process can easily extend into two hours of manipulation before success is achieved. However, the concern is that cement slurry from the liner cement job is usually sitting stationary across the setting tool during the entire time. Often, this delay in setting the packer has resulted in an overpull on the setting assembly when pulling out of hole. For obvious reasons, this is a risk that can become very costly to fix. As mentioned earlier, in the previous hole section the liner top packer did not set after working on it for 2 ½ hours. The liner running tool had to be pulled out of hole, and another liner top packer had to be picked up to set on top of the failed one.

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Case Histories - Implementation of New Liner Hanger Technology in South Central Venezuela Significantly Improves Operations in Complex Wells

et al. 2008

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Liners hangers are used in deep drilling operations to eliminate the need to run full strings of casing. Unlike regular casings that are installed back to surface; liners will be terminated downhole at a hang-off point in the last casing. Deploying liner hangers can be very difficult, depending on the wellbore conditions. In many scenarios, the bottomhole assembly (BHA) must be rotated and/or reciprocated in order to set the BHA at the target depth, and conventional liner hanger systems often do not permit tool rotation due to the complex design. Liner-hanger failures ultimately can be the cause for losing the wellbore or a section of the wellbore, which in turn, will result in additional well construction costs to sidetrack and drill another section through the production zone. This paper will discuss the use of an expandable liner hanger that has a less complicated design that withstands aggressive reaming as well as drilling to depth. This expandable system has no external moving parts such as slips, hydraulic-setting cylinders or separate liner-top packers, which are used in conventional liners. These attributes help mitigate the risks associated with the deployment exercise and the complexity of the completion. PDVSA embraced this technology to help them optimize operations in their deep wells in which extreme environments, often close to 300°F, with deviations greater than 60 degrees and setting depths of more that 12,000 feet are encountered. The benefits that have been gain by adopting this technology are:Optimized capital expenditureOptimized rig-time efficiency (reduced NPT)Avoidance of costly redundant conditioning trips, hanger damage, and premature settingElimination of external moving parts on hanger assembly (reduced complexity)Reduced rig timeImproved reliability and fluid flowNo slip damage to supporting casing Case histories that compare the traditional and expandable liner hanger systems and verify the advantages stated above are presented. Introduction The two case history wells discussed in this paper are located in the state of Barinas and Apure in Southern Venezuela (Figure 1). Using expandable liner hangers in Barinas and Apure have provided two very important functions in the well construction process. The first function was to support the weight of the liner, and the second was to provide a positive seal on setting that would isolate pressure differentials between the wellbore section above the liner hanger and the wellbore section below the liner hanger. A common problem in the industry concerns the fact that failure of conventional hangers normally occurs during the deployment of the liner or during the setting process, which can be due to a variety of reasons:Cement integrity at the liner top (Agnew, et al, 1084)Premature setting of the liner hangerInability to reach target depthProblems with conventional tools (darts, plugs, setting tools, etc.).

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Innovative Expandable Liner-Hanger Application Saves Time on Pinedale Anticline Drilling Operations: Two Case Studies

Cited by 12 publications

References 5 publications

Research Development of Liner Hanger Technologies

Research Development of Liner Hanger Technologies

First Application of New Expandable Liner Hanger Technology in Deepwater HP/HT Well of Egypt

Case Histories - Implementation of New Liner Hanger Technology in South Central Venezuela Significantly Improves Operations in Complex Wells

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