New Setting Technique for Gravel Pack Packers Increases Operational Safety and Reduces Costs

摘要

In the typical life cycle of a given well, the majority of thebudget is generally allocated to the drilling phase with theremainder to cover the completion costs. If, however, thesestages are not kept within planned budget and timeparameters, it becomes critical to reduce the time and cost inthe final completion strategies to enable the budgeting of theproject to be successful. This paper will discuss a new methodfor setting a gravel-pack packer that can assist in reducing theoverall time associated with the completion phase of a wellbore, and in turn, the subsequent cost.Packers are traditionally set by dropping a setting ball intothe workstring to create a plug in the service tool that is eitherpinned or threaded to the gravel-pack packer. The plug issubjected to an applied pressure that is translated from theservice tool to the packer, which both begins and finishes thepacker setting process. The creation of this plug, ball on seat,is affected by several factors. Such factors are wellboregeometry and deviation, the type of completion fluid, and thepacker setting depth. Each of these factors relates directly tothe time needed to create the plug, the ball landing on seat,and in certain instances, the time needed to reverse the settingball out of the work string. Again, the time to drop and/orreverse the setting ball all affect operational times.The new technology available eliminates the time and riskassociated with using setting balls against which pressure istraditionally applied to set gravel-pack packers. As the systemis hydrostatically driven, it allows a constant hydrostaticpressure to be maintained on the formation, reducing the riskof formation collapse, surges on the formation seen whenshearing the ball seat out, and the risk of the ball seat shearingprematurely. With fewer completion operations, chances formisruns are reduced, and safety and environmental risks areminimized. The reduction in setting time allows this system tobe considered a viable and affordable option for wells that meet the necessary criteria. The cost savings are even greaterin offshore environments.