Drilling developments

	Vol. 224 No. 2
ROBERT E. SNYDER, EXECUTIVE ENGINEERING EDITOR

 Forecasting wells to be drilled this year has not been fun. Everyone thinks more rigs will be working, but no one expects anything close to a boom. It is amazing to look at the plots of US onshore drilling rigs working in 2001 and 2002. From a peak of over 1,250 in July 2001, the bottom fell out, to 750, in only nine months, and the recovery has been minimal; some 400 of those 1,250 rigs are still stacked. The international rig count, conversely, behaved as it has for three years: peaking in the first quarter, dropping in the second quarter, then moving back up significantly. These curves are shown in the Industry at a glance feature.

 Supply/demand fundamentals say the US needs more producible oil in the ground and more in stock tanks and storage, but operators have tight budgets. They drilled like crazy in 2001 until natural gas prices dropped; and only recently do they have indications of higher gas prices – but for how long? Further, the US does not really have undiscovered gas targets of any magnitude, except in areas or in non conventional reservoirs that are not accessible for political or economic reasons. Where they can drill, at reasonable costs, gas reserves deplete quickly, and catching a few months of high prices to get an investment return becomes tricky. It will be an interesting year; meanwhile, the technology is ready. 

 Composite drill pipe test success. The Offshore International Newsletter reported that a new lightweight, flexible drill pipe made from composites rather than steel passed a field test in a US Department of Energy (DOE) project, and is being readied for first commercial use. DOE’s National Energy Technology Lab said the drill pipe, made from carbon fiber resins by Advanced Composite Products and Technology Inc., was successfully tested in a short radius horizontal well in Oklahoma, where Grand Resources re-entered a vertical well that ceased producing in 1923. Drillers kicked off a new borehole at 1,200 ft using 2.5-in. composite pipe curving in a 70-ft radius. The well was drilled another 1,000 ft and struck an oil-bearing zone. 

 More efficient directional drilling. Two developers have released news about new systems to better define targets for deviated wells operating in the rotating drill pipe mode. Schlumberger Oilfield Services introduced its reservoir steering tool trademarked ProVISION. This new magnetic resonance (MR) logging while drilling (LWD) tool delivers real-time producibility information for steering decisions to enhance well performance. Field tested under a wide variety of conditions, it has a track record of 49 MR LWD runs for 13 different operators in 35 wells.

 Obtaining MR data during drilling allows the drilling process to be optimized to increase well performance. The system has been delivering reliable, real-time data transmission of LWD productivity data since mid-2000, Schlumberger says. Designed and tested to full LWD shock, temperature and pressure standards, the tool does not require radioactive sources and is fully compatible with existing technology. It can be placed anywhere in the BHA. Real-time data can help reduce drilling cost by delivering information for early sidetrack, plug/abandon and completion decisions, and to optimize completions. More information can be found at: www.slb.com/oilfield/provision. 

 And Precision Drilling Corp. has announced successful downhole testing of its 4 3/4-in. rotary steerable system (RSS) tool trademarked Revolution. Designed and manufactured at Precision’s research and engineering facility in Cheltenham, England, the system drilled 3,084 ft at an average ROP of 135 ft/hr during a recent field test in Western Canada’s Farrow field, for EOG Resources Canada Inc. Additional field tests are underway in Mexico. 

 EOG says it is pleased with the new system. It was able to control hole deviation and direction more efficiently than with conventional mud motors. “Having a 4 3/4-in. RSS will open up different hole size and casing design options to make our wells cost effective,” the company added. RSS allows operators to orient and control well trajectory while rotating the drillstring. The result is faster penetration, smoother wellbores and fewer doglegs. The new system is the first 4 3/4-in. RSS to use point-the-bit technology to control the well path. 

 Three jackups change hands. Noble Corp. announced that it has acquired two jackup drilling units, Trident III and Dhabi II, from a subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd. The first is a Marathon LeTourneau 116-C, independent leg, cantilever jackup operating in the United Arab Emirates under contract with Dubai Petroleum Co. Dhabi II is a Baker Marine, independent leg, cantilever jackup operating in the United Arab Emirates under contract with Abu Dhabi Oil Co. And Transocean is in the process of selling jackup RBF 160 to Arabian Drilling. The rig is reportedly replacing Arabian Drilling’s Arabdrill 19 jackup which was written off as a total loss after suffering a punch-through while on contract with Saudi Aramco. 

 Ship-based LNG regasification. El Paso has aggressively pursued its plan to initiate more LNG imports to the US via a program to deliver LNG by ship to offshore terminals connected by gas pipelines to shore, and feed such lines directly with regasified LNG. As tangible proof of its intent, El Paso Global LNG, a subsidiary of El Paso Corp, announced development of its first EP Energy Bridge natural gas delivery system in the Gulf of Mexico, located about 116 miles off the Louisiana coast. In accordance with passage of the Deepwater Port Act Amendments in the Maritime Security Act of 2002 in November, the company filed an application with the US Coast Guard to obtain a license to construct and operate an offshore natural gas deepwater port. 

 This new ship-based LNG regasification system is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2004. El Paso plans to construct an offshore buoy and riser system that includes about eight miles of 20-in. pipeline connecting into two existing subsea pipelines to deliver the gas to the main pipeline grid with minimal environmental impact. Such ships can regasify and deliver up to 500 MMcfd. As the ship arrives at the unloading site, the buoy is pulled into a receiving cone and connected to the ship. The LNG is then regasified onboard and is discharged through the buoy into the subsea pipeline.