New Setting Technique for Gravel Pack Packers Increases Operational Safety and Reduces Costs

Abstract

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractIn the typical life cycle of a given well, the majority of the budget is generally allocated to the drilling phase with the remainder to cover the completion costs. If, however, these stages are not kept within planned budget and time parameters, it becomes critical to reduce the time and cost in the final completion strategies to enable the budgeting of the project to be successful. This paper will discuss a new method for setting a gravel-pack packer that can assist in reducing the overall time associated with the completion phase of a well bore, and in turn, the subsequent cost.Packers are traditionally set by dropping a setting ball into the workstring to create a plug in the service tool that is either pinned or threaded to the gravel-pack packer. The plug is subjected to an applied pressure that is translated from the service tool to the packer, which both begins and finishes the packer setting process. The creation of this plug, ball on seat, is affected by several factors. Such factors are wellbore geometry and deviation, the type of completion fluid, and the packer setting depth. Each of these factors relates directly to the time needed to create the plug, the ball landing on seat, and in certain instances, the time needed to reverse the setting ball out of the work string. Again, the time to drop and/or reverse the setting ball all affect operational times.The new technology available eliminates the time and risk associated with using setting balls against which pressure is traditionally applied to set gravel-pack packers. As the system is hydrostatically driven, it allows a constant hydrostatic pressure to be maintained on the formation, reducing the risk of formation collapse, surges on the formation seen when shearing the ball seat out, and the risk of the ball seat shearing prematurely. With fewer completion operations, chances for misruns are reduced, and safety and environmental risks are minimized. The reduction in setting time allows this system to be considered a viable and affordable option for wells that meet the necessary criteria. The cost savings are even greater in offshore environments.