Saving Rig Time on Exploration and Development in Deep Gas Wells with an Innovative Approach to Test and Prepare Liners Prior to Completion Wahid Obari, Mohamed Hegazy, Hasan Ali, Mazen Markabi, Mohammed R. AlAwfi, Mohamed Khalil Nafi and Abdulqawi Al-Fakih- Schlumberger

摘要

When deep gas drilling in the Middle East, the well completion operation is considered one of the most critical phases of the well construction process. This is due to the series of runs required in order to prepare the well for the lower and upper completions while ensuring well integrity and well barriers. The well completion preparation and complex cleaning requirements are time consuming, representing up to 16% of the total well time. This typically requires multiple clean-up runs after cementing the lower completion (production liner) and before running the upper completion. These additional trips not only consume rig time, but expose the operation to health, safety, and environment (HSE) and non-productive time (NPT) related problems. Conventional operations, in some cases, may require up to six separate trips to set completions in the well. These extra trips can be reduced by combining different technologies based on specific completion applications to execute the necessary tasks while eliminating unnecessary working time from the drilling operations and the associated cost to a well. Addressing the challenges associated with the wells in the Middle East required the development of a series of tools and procedures to optimize the operation by completing the required tasks in a single combined cleanout BHA. This paper will provide details about how the operation was successfully performed and can be recreated for other wells experiencing the same challenges. This paper includes the procedures and the description of tools used to combine multiple runs into one single clean out BHA, which saved 3 to 5 days of rig time per well. In addition, it will review the challenges faced in developing and executing this novel approach to prepare the wellbore for the upper completion and the possible total savings.