Hostile drilling environments require new approach

摘要

With HP/HT operations becoming the norm, drilling and formation evaluation technologies must ensure that systems can withstand extreme levels of shock, vibration, and pressure surges. Logging-while-drilling (LWD) and rotary steerable technologies have traditionally been very difficult to deploy in hostile environments, because sophisticated tools are exposed to extreme heat downhole during the entire drilling operation that may go on for days. Exhaustive engineering analysis and rigorous testing and development have resulted in Halliburton introducing a plethora of systems with significantly higher tolerance for high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) conditions. The company's HP/HT point-the-bit rotary steerable system is ruggedized to withstand temperatures as high as 347℉ (175℃) and pressures to 30,000 psi; with survival temperatures up to 392℉ (200℃). Complementing the HP/HT drilling system is the suite of measurement-while-drilling (MWD)/LWD sensors rated to 347℉ (175℃) and 25,000 psi. These sensors have been proven in nearly 600 HT runs and more than 35,000 ft (10,675 m) of HP hole last year alone.