Over the last few years, drilling activities have significantly increased in the Mediterranean. Operators have been mainly focusing on hitting their targets and achieving their well objectives as safely and efficiently as possible. Schlumberger, Halliburton and Weatherford are of the major Service providers in the Mediterranean Sea. Their technologies play a great important role for the offshore operators.
Schlumberger Drilling & Measurements has deployed its multifunction Logging While Drilling Technology “EcoScope”, which incorporates decades of Schlumberger experience in providing quality measurements. The new LWD platform is a substantial improvement over the previous versions of LWD tools that were much longer than the current version where one single collar 26 ft long tool combines both drilling and formation evaluation measurements.
EcoScope has stepped a significant leap towards safer and risk free operations. It represents the latest generation of LWD technologies and has been efficiently deployed in the Mediterranean shallow and deepwater operations. Being Safer (Less or No radioactive source, No Lithium Batteries and Single Collar with Reduced inter-tool connections, Smarter ( Closer & Unique Measurements, Collocated Sensors & Unlimited Memory Size) and Faster (Tool Data acquisition accommodates higher ROPs up to 450ft/hr), It has delivered unprecedented data gathering and interpretation with a high data quality and resolution, which have met operators expectations and have proactively contributed to achieve their challenging well objectives as efficiently as possible.
As for Halliburton, Sperry Drilling Services Egypt recently supplied services to BP Egypt on their well Satis-1. At 21,547 feet (6,567 m) Satis-1 is the deepest well drilled to date in the Mediterranean Sea.
In a challenging HTHP environment, SDL supplied a full mud logging service with PPFG service, fast gas and mud gas in, to monitor the well.
LWD supplied for the first time in Egypt a 9 ½-inch LWD combo (directional-BAT™ sonic-gamma-PWD-resistivity) in the top hole sections. Deeper in the well both 8-inch and 6 ¾-inch high-temperature (directional- BAT sonic -gamma-PWD-resistivity) tools were run. HOT BAT (170° C) was another first in Egypt. After sidetracking the well, Sperry Drill® 6 ¾-inch motors were utilized to drill to core point.
The Geo-Pilot 9600 series tools with Geo-Span® downlink were mobilized for both the 16 ½-inch x 20-inch and 14 ¾-inch x 17-inch hole sections, where historically formations had built angle in offset wells. The 16 ½-inch x 20-inch section was drilled to TD with an average inclination below 0.7° and a maximum inclination of less than 1.15°. During the 14 ¾-inch x 17-inch section the BHA had only a slight build tendency and managed to drill to section TD with less than 1.7° inclination.
At TD a truly vertical well was delivered to the customer. The offset from the wellhead was below 110 feet (33.5 m), giving an average inclination from surface to bottom hole location of only 0.3°.
For Weatherford, as operators seek technologies that are designed and developed specifically to suit the unique needs and challenges of the deepwater environment, the cost benefits become quite significant.
One of the unique technologies used by Weatherford in the Mediterranean is the SurgeMaster tool which is being used by two of the major clients in Egypt: BP and Shell.
The SurgeMaster Diverter tool and auto-fill float collar are important technologies for running liners and liner-hanger systems in close-tolerance casing programs. For example, they enable an operator to successfully mitigate hydraulic forces created while running into the well an 11 3 /4 inch liner inside of 13 3/8‑inch casing with little clearance for passing wellbore fluid. Such pressure surges can fracture the formation and cause massive fluid loss.
To reduce pressures the liner system is run in conjunction with a large-bore guide shoe and the auto-fill float collar at the bottom of the string. The SurgeMaster tool is run above the top of the liner system. Running the auto-fill float collar with a large-bore guide shoe allows significant volumes of fluid to move up the wellbore, inside the liner as it is run in the hole. Running the SurgeMaster tool at the top of the liner allows the fluid to pass into the annulus between the drill pipe and the casing above the liner top, reducing and often eliminating surge pressures on the formation during run-in. Upon reaching liner setting depth, the auto-fill float equipment is converted to standard float mode and the SurgeMaster tool’s shifting port sleeve is permanently deactivated so that the ports remain closed for the remainder of the liner installation and cement job.
