New High-Performance Completion Packer Selection and Deployment for Holstein and Mad Dog Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Projects

Abstract

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThe BP Holstein and Mad Dog oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico are high-profile deepwater projects with high production and high costs. Wellbore construction for both fields includes a completion packer to manage tubing loads and reliably isolate production fluid and pressures from the casing, tiebacks, and risers.Several drivers influenced the packer selection and development process. The magnitude of the packer loading pointed toward high-performance permanent packers. Life-ofwell and life-of-field requirements for planned and unplanned workovers pointed toward the operational flexibility of retrievable packers. High rig costs, a desire for accelerated production, and difficult wireline access "S" curve wells indicated the value derivable from interventionless completions. And the high cost of failure pointed toward high performance and quality standards to reduce risk of failure and potential malfunctions. Together, these drivers pointed toward a new packer solution. Ultimately a high-performance, modular, removeable, "V0 rated," interventionless production packer was developed which met all of these criteria. This paper describes the Holstein and Mad Dog completion environment, and details the selection, development, deployment, and lessons learned with the hydrostatic set, interventionless, removeable packer solution.