New products and services

Wireless downhole testing system provides real-time data

Schlumberger has released the Quartet downhole reservoir testing system, enabled by Muzic wireless telemetry, to provide data in real time for validation. The Quartet system uses wireless, bi-directional communication to provide downhole tool status, and pressure and temperature data, which allows test design modifications and validation of test data while reservoir testing is taking place. The system also enables the isolation, control, measurement and sampling of the reservoir in a single run. Field tests using the system with wireless telemetry have been run in Egypt, Indonesia, Qatar, Brazil and Angola, in environments ranging from onshore to deep water.

Upgrades to high-strength, sour service drillpipe

Vallourec Drilling Products has developed a new, high-strength drillpipe family to address challenges in sour oil and gas reservoirs. These new grades—VM-120 DP MS and VM-120 DP S—exhibit a higher minimum yield strength (120 ksi) than the current sour service grades available on the market, and as described by industry standards (105-ksi specified minimum yield strength). To guarantee the SSC resistance of these high-strength materials, pipes and tool joints are tested as per the NACE TM-0177 standard, using Method A and Solution A. A string of this high-strength material is being used for the first time in North Sea wells. 

New, patent-pending skidding system

AXON has introduced a new skidding system that features simplified load paths between a rig’s acting cylinder and claws. At roughly half the weight of conventional systems on the market, the system has fewer total parts, including a reduced number of moving parts. The system also allows for simpler installation and removal, along with a self-stowing feature.

Production solution for unconventional oil

Baker Hughes has released its ProductionWave flexible production solution for unconventional oil wells. Measured against traditional rod lift systems, the solution improves economics, and has a smaller environmental footprint and fewer HSE risks. It features the company’s FLEX pump ESP technology, and is targeted primarily at unconventional resource plays in which post-frac production rates decline rapidly, and wellbore trajectories prove troublesome for rod lift systems. FLEX pumps can operate in flow ranges from 50 to 4,000 bpd of fluid, enabling operation in dynamic producing conditions, while providing better associated gas handling capabilities than rod lift systems. Additionally, this solution includes technology for gas handling and sand control, production chemicals and services, and services related to applications engineering, real-time optimization and field support.

Proppant meets 30,000-psi standard

Saint-Gobain Proppants has unveiled Titan, the industry’s only 30,000-psi proppant. This addition to the full line of SGP lightweight-, intermediate- and high-strength bauxite proppants is an ultra-high-strength ceramic proppant designed to perform in the world’s most demanding downhole environments. In collaboration with Gulf of Mexico operators working in the Lower Tertiary, Saint-Gobain established, through multiple simulations, that large-mesh, mono-size proppant may not optimize the hydraulic fracture design for these high-profile reservoirs. Titan is available in multiple sieve distributions.

Enhanced reservoir modeling software

Emerson Process Management has released Roxar RMS 2013, the latest version of its reservoir modeling software. RMS 2013 now comes with model-driven interpretation capabilities and new solutions for seismic interpretation that are tightly linked to geological model building, providing users with a full seismic-to-simulation workflow. Model-driven interpretation enables users to create a geological model, while conducting seismic interpretation and capturing uncertainty during the interpretation. This ability provides users with tools for quantifying geologic risk early in the interpretation process. Roxar RMS comprises more than 20 fully-integrated software modules, including seismic interpretation, structural model building, 3D gridding, facies and petrophysical modeling, flow simulation, well planning and uncertainty modeling tools. 

New production, reservoir monitoring solutions introduced

Weatherford International’s production systems business unit has released OmniWell Production and Reservoir Monitoring. The solutions provide unified reservoir monitoring for real-time downhole data in a range of well conditions. OmniWell solutions incorporate electronic and optical sensing technologies to deliver real-time data for pressure, thermal, flow, acoustic and seismic applications. The company also has introduced a new, scalable data platform for acquiring, integrating and managing critical well data, plus software and services to simultaneously visualize dynamic, multi-parameter data for changing well conditions. The integrated data platform for multi-application, multi-measurements and distributed sensing enables correlated readings and characterization.

Subsea piling system improves safety

Conductor Installation Services (CIS), an Acteon company, has launched a new service line: subsea piling services. The company has introduced a new CIS Subsea Piling System, a remotely-operated system developed to drive piles as large as 36-in. in diameter, in water depths to 300 m. The system comprises several primary components:  a hydraulic hammer dressed for working subsea; a control unit equipped with instrumentation and technology used to carry out and monitor the piling process; a power unit; hydraulic hose and cable winches that carry up to 300 m of hoses or cable; and an upending frame.