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Spray-Dried Potassium Silicate

PQ Corp. has introduced spray-dried potassium silicates to its EcoDrill line of sodium and potassium silicate products. Potassium silicate-based drilling fluids are used in land-based drilling as an environmentally friendly shale stabilizer. The powered product offers all the performance advantages of liquid potassium silicates as well as the inherent benefits of powders (i.e., easy to ship, store, and handle). The product does not require heated storage or the use of freezing-point depressants when drilling in subzero temperatures. Therefore, the powders are particularly suitable for winter drilling in the Rockies and the Arctic. The spray-dried potassium silicates demonstrate much faster solubilization compared with sodium silicates of similar alkalinity. The faster dissolution rate is primarily the result of the greater ionic strength of the potassium cation. Dissolution rates are further enhanced by a new spray-drying process that improves the physical properties of the powder. As a result, these powders can be formulated easily into drilling fluid. As with all potassium silicate-based products, the spray-dried powder is completely inorganic, nonhazardous, and nonflammable.

For additional information, e-mail Mike.McDonald@silicates.com.

Mechanized Casing and Tubing Running

BJ Tubular Services’ Leadhand MK II tong-manipulating
system used for casing- and tubing-running operations
for Shell offshore Brazil.

BJ Tubular Services’ mechanized casing and tubing running is being used by Shell Brasil Ltda. on the Bijupirá and Salema development in the Campos basin offshore Brazil. The fully mechanized running system is used to run casing ranging from 7 to 36 in., and tubing from 4.5 to 7 in., including screen liners. The system increases safety standards and improves running times. The package includes the Fill and Circulate Tool, the Leadhand MK II tong-manipulating system, 14-in. hydraulic casing and backup tongs, and the Top-Drive Casing-Alignment Tool (T-CAT). The T-CAT makes it possible to run tubulars without carrying out hazardous stabbing-board operations. By use of this tool, tubulars can be made up directly on the rig floor. Operated remotely by one technician, the tool pickes up the tubular from the catwalk. Then the tubular is positioned and made up in the rotary, in keeping with traditional industry practice. The entire process is achieved without a stabber and is operated from the rig floor. The Leadhand MK II is a hydraulic power-tong handling system designed to maneuver hydraulic power tongs to and from the well center during casing- and tubing-running operations.

For additional information, e-mail enquiries.tubular@bjservices.co.uk.

Multiphase Scaleup

Geomodeling Technology Corp. announced that multiphase scaleup is part of its SBED software. This software models the small-scale geological heterogeneity that affects large-scale reservoir performance. All types of geological heterogeneity—from millimeter-sized pores to meter-sized rock units, from porous sands to impermeable shales—influence reservoir performance. This technique allows the fundamentals of physical composition on one level to be encapsulated on a larger level. Conventional reservoir-modeling technologies extrapolate relative permeability curves measured from core plugs to a full-field reservoir model, without considering the effect of small-scale geological details. Understanding all of the processes involved in fluid flow through sedimentary rocks is key to understanding contaminant migration and petroleum production. High-resolution 3D heterogeneity models can be built that are geologically realistic stratigraphic models at subseismic scale. The models define facies, bedding, and boundary patterns that affect fluid distribution. Facies-dependent modeling improves large-scale geological modeling by generating type curves, permeability curves, and vertical-/horizontal-permeability distributions for each lithofacies. Bedding and lithofacies models can be refined with predefined stratigraphic templates. Multiphase scaleup increases the accuracy of fluid-volume and recovery estimates by use of effective property values. Effective porosity and permeability measurements can be scaled up from core and well-log data to full-field reservoir scale. Effective scaled-up values can be exported to reservoir-simulation programs to better predict recovery-factor estimates, sweep efficiency, and geologic risk.

For additional information, e-mail info@geomodeling.com.

Single Point of Access

For any geographical area of interest in the U.S., IHS Energy maintains a comprehensive resource base of critical E&P data. With IHS Enerdeq, energy professionals can browse, map, and analyze all of this data on-demand over the Internet, in a single integrated view, enabling fast and broad studies of existing or potential E&P assets. This next-generation data-access and -integration platform allows access to more than three million wells and two million production entities, including the most current data available, by use of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Proactive e-mail notification of new data in the area of interest is available, greatly reducing the risk of key data being omitted in base-map construction, geological interpretation, and other critical analysis. Well and production data can be retrieved and reported in an integrated fashion, using both test-based and interactive spatial queries.

For additional information, visit www.ihsenergy.com.

Wireline Fluid Sampling

Schlumberger has developed a new approach to wireline fluid sampling that reduces filtrate contamination in fluid samples to near-zero levels. The QuickSilver Probe wireline sampling tool reduces the uncertainty regarding drilling-mud-filtrate contamination of the sample fluid, which historically has been the fundamental problem of openhole formation-fluid analysis. Practical application of conventional sampling techniques over the years has established that zero contamination in fluid samples is theoretically impossible to achieve. During such an operation, fluid withdrawn from the surrounding reservoir shows continuously diminished contamination, but slowly over time, as filtrate invades the perimeter of the sampling zone. However, the probe design of the focused-sampling tool separates this filtrate-contaminated fluid from the pure reservoir fluid. The contaminated fluid is isolated toward the probe’s perimeter and pumped into a flowline distinct from the pure reservoir fluid that is collected and pumped into a separate sampling flowline in the center. By use of two independent pumping systems, the properties of the fluids within both flowlines are monitored in real time, thereby controlling the overall sampling operation. Obtaining clean fluids will help reduce uncertainties of all fluid-analysis measurements performed either downhole or in the laboratory, having a significant effect on reserves estimation, production-rate forecasting, compartmentalization diagnostics, reservoir-connectivity evaluation, flow assurance, completion design, and facilities engineering. This new wireline focused-sampling tool has a maximum operating temperature of 350°F and maximum hydrostatic pressure of 25,000 psi.

For additional information, e-mail openholeinfo@slb.com.

One-Trip Casing Exit

Baker Oil Tools’ WindowMaster whipstock system
           

Using the WindowMaster whipstock system, Baker Oil Tools recently completed a 16-in., one-trip casing exit in a Petro-Canada well in the Terra Nova field, 350 km offshore Newfoundland in a water depth of 100 m. The window was cut in 16-in., 109-lbm/ft casing at 60.1° deviation after experiencing drilling problems at the original 16-in. casing shoe. The WindowMaster whipstock was oriented to 41° right of the high side at 1525 m, then the Metal Muncher exit mill was used to cut a 9-m-long casing window and then 8 m of sandstone formation in 25 hours. The milling and drilling operation enabled the operator to set an expandable drilling liner through the window to allow completion of the sidetrack, preserving the well slot. The whipstock system uses a full-drift outside-diameter window mill, which requires less rathole. The system can be run in hole, oriented to the new hole direction, and anchored in place, and then a window can be completely milled, all in one trip. This system eliminates at least two round trips with drillpipe, which are required by conventional window-cutting systems. The milling assembly is designed to eliminate the risk of mill connection and/or body failure during milling. The window mill uses a cutting-structure technology that enables the operator to mill the window while applying minimum weight and torque to the workstring. The resulting cuttings will be small and easily circulated out of the hole.

For additional information, visit www.fishingsvcs.com.

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