Weatherford launches single-trip openhole cementing and sidetrack system

HOUSTON - Weatherford has launched a single-trip openhole cementing sidetrack system capable of initiating sidetrack operations without the need of a cement plug. The company’s AlphaST, is designed to increase operator flexibility, eliminate multiple trips, and avoid costly cementing operations. The new tool is the industry’s only single-trip openhole cementing and sidetrack system. “For operators, AlphaST means you will never again need to sidetrack from a cement plug,” said Dean Bell, Weatherford’s president, well construction. “AlphaST enables operators to avoid the cost and time of setting a cement plug; waiting on cement to dry and time drilling. The bottom line is opex savings equal to days of rig time.” For an operator in the Permian basin, previous sidetrack attempts with conventional cement plugs failed in a hard formation, requiring multiple trips in the hole resulting in damaged directional bottomhole assemblies. Weatherford’s re-entry engineers reviewed the application and installed the AlphaST system. After landing at the required depth, the team set the inflatable production packer to anchor the whipstock, and drilled off the formation in a single trip, saving the operator 29 hours of rig time and more than $100,000 of operational expense.