AirLock system cuts casing running time and cost—lands long strings in difficult formations

摘要

The unique AirLock® casing-buoyancy system has now been run in more than 1,400 wells—including monobores in difficult, abrasive formations—and the casing has landed successfully every time, cutting running time up to 50% and saving thousands of dollars per well. The system is interventionless and does not interfere with cementing operations. There are only two components: a seal collar installed in the casing string above the lateral section; and a debris trap installed in a casing connection above the float collar. The domed seal locks air in the lateral section below the fluid-filled vertical section, adding buoyancy that reduces sliding friction by at least half, while the weight of the vertical section adds force to push the string all the way to the toe of the well. After landing, increased pressure causes the seal to shatter into small fragments, leaving a full-drift wellbore. Fragments are collected by the debris trap, and cementing operations proceed as normal.