Completions

A frac-sand plant in the Eagle Ford region of Texas erupted in flames over the weekend, imperiling supplies of a key component in shale drilling.

Using advanced snubbing equipment has enhanced completion and workover efficiencies in developing Vaca Muerta shale resources. The new hydraulic completion units increase performance and enable the operator to push the technical limits of extended lateral well completions.

Prime Mapping is a tubular field service carried out before running-in-hole that provides actual casing and tubing data enhancing drilling and completion operations. Prime Mapping can be run on the rig floor or at the yard by Vallourec trained technicians at any time, for tubulars from any supplier. The data is obtained using a portable device called In-Pipe Rover which uses laser and/or ultrasound technology. Prime Mapping provides full-length internal diameter (ID), wall thickness (WT), and outside diameter (OD) map with thousands of data points per pipe, providing calculated ovality, eccentricity, out-of-roundness, bore and metal volume. This actual geometric data is essential for packer setting and cement displacement, and mitigates casing wear while drilling, as it allows operators to optimize their casing and tubing strings before running, thus obtaining higher downhole performance. By performing the service in any field, Prime Mapping saves time, costs, and CO2 emissions for operators who no longer need to send pipes back to UT benches.

A pump protection assembly has proven to safeguard pumps from sand and extend ESP run life in unconventional wells. This solution controls flowback from frac sand and other solids that can lead to overload and shutdowns. The enabling technology eliminates issues related to particle size distribution uncertainty.

Varel Energy Solutions (VES) announced it has acquired Sledgehammer Oil Tools, an international leader in the supply of oilfield casing, cementing and completion products.

This article reviews gas lift well selection and its inflow relationship with the reservoir; wellbore and facility parameters that must be addressed; unloading control (kill) fluid that is in the wellbore following all interventions to install downhole equipment; the optimization procedure; and more.

DAS fiber deployed on several wells’ completion strings offshore recorded a 3DVSP survey with ongoing production, but with significant noise encountered. A novel, two-step approach on one well addressed fiber directivity response on recorded data to recover relative amplitudes. The final 3D VSP image showed improved spatial resolution over target intervals.

This achievement further establishes the company as a strategic player in the international energy sector and marks a 22% increase in production from 2021.

Petrofac, a global energy industry services provider, has been selected by i3 Energy to provide well engineering, well operations and well operator services for its UK North Sea license areas.

Seismicity reviews are conducted by the Underground Injection Control Department for injection/disposal well permits in areas susceptible to earthquakes and in certain geologic zones.

Polymer flooding actually dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, but it is enjoying a resurgence of usage, thanks to more recent results in projects.

Smart tracers to map injection flow, promote inter-well communication as prelude to full-field development.

Efficiency gains are required to enhance completion performance, to promote maximum hydrocarbon recovery. New pressure pumping advances are helping service companies to be more competitive while improving profits for operators.

AICDs are the next generation of inflow control technology that autonomously provides a more uniform inflow profile and enhanced production. The FloSure AICD increases oil output over field life and has been deployed successfully in light and heavy oil wells to overcome water or gas breakthrough.

A domain-centric approach when applying AI technologies is being used to solve issues in challenging wells.

Existing but previously unused data obtained during the drilling process can now be used to enhance completion design. The author outlines the available data and discusses how it can be incorporated into the completion design process and ultimately provide economic benefits to an operator.

A new slickline-deployed, memory-based, cased-hole evaluation system delivers the same quality data used to identify bypassed reserves as conventional wireline but without the higher costs and logistical burdens.

To drill more wells, they need steel tubes to line the inside of the holes and get the crude out. Those pipes have become more expensive and scarce.

As fracturing intensities continue to push component capabilities, a system-level approach is required to further enhance operational efficiencies. An innovative completion technology ecosystem has delivered OPEX savings and QHSE improvement through system integration, automation and digital control capabilities.

Increased industry demand for lower emissions, improved operational efficiency and reliability, and competitive capital cost structure, all call for innovative thinking in hydraulic equipment design and engineering. Direct-drive turbine technology has been proven to take up the challenges.

Oil and gas drilling is big business once again, if the leap in demand for services from Baker Hughes Co., the world’s No. 2 oilfield contractor, is any gauge.