Oil Country Tubular Goods

Status report on the progress of high-speed wired drill pipe for telemetry. With transmission rates more like surface Internet connections, Grant Prideco has been field-testing its Intelliserve breakthrough technology. We update the results of their field-testing program of this exciting, game-changing technology, for what is now essentially a commercial product.

What's new in expandable technology. Now in its third successful year, World Oil provides a report from all the major, and even some small, expandable service providers. We keep thinking that this report will shrink in size, since it's an update on our previous report. But this has not been the case, because service providers and operators have been very busy in developing this technology. The report includes all manner of expandable technology: casing, patches, screens, etc.

The latest advancements on the dream of the monodiameter well. This technology, if achieved, would mean a step-change in drilling, by eliminating telescoping casing strings. Each year, technical advances are made to achieving this in a one trip, cost-effective approach. Not only will vertical wells benefit, but it may be the only way to drill some ultra-long extended reach wells. What the problems are, and how they are being resolved, are discussed (Enventurea – Shell and Halliburton JV – and Baker Hughes are the principles working on this technology).

Aluminum alloy pipe and risers. Steel drillpipe and risers limit the carrying capacity and drilling capability of many deepwater rigs. By replacing these standard tubulars with aluminum alloy pipe and risers, the water depth ratings of many older rigs can be extended, and the wells drilled can go to deeper depths, which extends the capability of the older semisubmersible fleet.

 North Sea Regional Report

Authors from Deloitte Petroleum Services detail activity in terms of drilling and development, as well as any governmental policy changes that affect the upstream oil and gas industry. A special subsection will deal with recent new field discoveries.

 Offshore Report

Trapped annulus pressure: a vexing problem on many offshore wells. ConocoPhillips encountered just such a problem at Magnolia field in the Gulf of Mexico. Besides governmental compliance, this can threaten to ruin a well, and even become dangerous. This article describes the problem and how the company overcame it.

Combining recent advances in floatover technology proves successful in 7500-ton CEP topsides. In China's northern Bohai Bay, CNOOC faced a challenge with production facilities for its Nan Bao NB35-2 oil field. Authors from China's Offshore Oil Engineering Corp. describe how the installation was achieved.

Standoff technology prevents wear in long-reach, horizontal wells. Strong ocean currents significantly impair many offshore drilling operations by forcing drilling operation shutdown due to excessive riser deflection. Pioneer Natural Resources found a way to overcome this problem and save millions of dollars in formerly wasted rig time through the use of standoff technology, developed for long-reach, horizontal wells.

 Deepwater Technology

Block 15 drilling and completion innovations achieve remarkable results. Authors from ExxonMobil describe how the company constantly innovates to make the results of its offshore Angola projects faster, better and cheaper. The article discusses management, safety and specific engineering advances that allowed these achievements.

Fishing in the subsea BOP. A station-keeping incident, prompted by eddy/loop currents, meant that the Dynamically Positioned drillship had to disconnect from the subsea BOP. Subsequently, a problem was discovered that had to be fixed. Authors from BP tell the story.

Overcoming drilling challenges on K2. The Gulf of Mexico posed a unique set of problems on the K2 project: shallow water flows, drilling through 10,000 ft of salt, subsea horizontal wellheads, and challenging pore pressures and loop currents, to name a few.

 Seismic/Exploration

Multi-azimuth, 3D seismic acquisition. By shooting in numerous directions, the problem with differences between inline and crossline can be minimized. This sort of acquisition can be essential to image beneath overhangs and other difficulties.

 Conformance Engineering: Unwanted Production

Conformance Engineering doesn't necessarily mean shutting off water production. It means shutting off unwanted production, whether water or gas. This is Part 3 in the series from an OXY Permian expert on the subject. It evaluates the conformance program economics and describes how to best learn from the process.

 Petroleum Technology Digest

Our popular, recurring feature results from World Oil's association with the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council. This month features a case study about, using a Hydraulic diaphragm electric submersible pump to improve run life and lower lifting costs in stripper wells, authored by Bretagne LLC and Smith Lift LLC.