Welcome to
Technology Update, the Baker Hughes eNewsletter to inform you about
our latest technologies for oil and gas drilling, formation evaluation, completion and production.
 Baker Oil Tools Successfully Runs Drilling Liner through Tar Section on a Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Well
Baker Oil Tools was invited to attend a brainstorming session to develop a plan for running an 11-7/8" drilling liner through a tar section on a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico. Due to the close tolerances of conventional liner equipment and no real need for a liner hanger or packer, an unconventional method for using a model “D” casing spear and pack-off was selected to push and rotate the 11-7/8" liner to bottom. The first attempt was not successful due to the tar coming into the wellbore. The well was plugged back and re-drilled to just above the tar sand. A similar assembly using a Hughes Christensen
EZ Case bit and Baker model “D” casing spear and pack-off were used in combination with a 10-3/4" liner assembly. The 10-3/4" casing provided improved hydraulic characteristics compared to the 11-7/8" casing for drilling down the liner. The liner was successfully drilled down over 464 ft (141 m) with an average ROP of 34.4 ft/hr. The recommended system enabled the client to case off the problem zone and drill ahead without losing the entire wellbore.
 Hughes Christensen Genesis™ XT
PDC Bit Sets Field Record in Mexico’s Challenging Southeast Marine Region
A Hughes Christensen team set a field record and established
Genesis XT PDC bits as the technology of choice for challenging lithology in Mexico’s southeast marine region. Historically, the Ixtal field’s Cretaceous formation, consisting of fractured mudstone and wackstone and 5% to 10% interlays of bentonite and chert, had been drilled with 8-1/2" TCI bits and a seal reliability limit of 350,000 revolutions, resulting in multiple runs at low
rate of penetration (ROP). For Ixtal-34, a competitor ran a new impregnated bit design for increasing ROP. The performance was poor, so the operator pulled it out of hole and asked
Hughes Christensen for a bit proposal to solve the problem. The team recommended a 13-blade Genesis XT 513Z with 16-mm Zenith cutters for increasing ROP and durability. The HC513Z reached TD at a total of 682 ft (208 m) at ROP of 11 ft/hr (3.28 m/hr). The ROP was 46% faster with 14% more footage compared with the same formation’s best offset. The bit came out of hole in excellent condition. The run broke the paradigm of using impregnated bits as the only answer for this tough application.
 INTEQ VertiTrak™ System Maintains Precise Directional Control for Salt Dome Storage Well in Louisiana
INTEQ recently finished another salt dome storage project utilizing the
VertiTrak system. In this application, borehole inclination above 0.5° can result in poor economics on the storage capacity of the cavern. The Cavern well in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana was flawlessly executed. The VertiTrak system delivered precise directional control while maintaining a low inclination well path throughout the hole section (5270 ft-6130 ft/1606 m – 1868 m). The VertiTrak system reduced the inclination to 0.20° within 95 ft and maintained it below 0.28° to total depth (TD).
 Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids Performs First Successful Kazakhstan Application of PERFORMAX Water-Based Mud System
Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids has completed the first successful Kazakhstan application of the
PERFORMAX high performance water-based mud system. The mud system was used to drill the 12-1/4" hole section that includes the troublesome Permian formation. Typical problems encountered in offset wells include wellbore instability problems, stuck pipe, and low rates of penetration. Highlights from the PERFORMAX section were: 1) 12-1/4" hole section drilled in 48 days compared with 76 days in offset wells, 2) lower mud weights required, 3) six PDC bits used to drill the interval as opposed to 15 with conventional systems, 4) waste disposal volume reduced by 37%, 5) dilution rate reduced by almost 50%, 6) a solids removal efficiency of 87.5% compared with 79% for the offset, and 7) downhole losses reduced by 38%. These successes saved the client significant time and money.
 Baker Atlas Acquires High-Quality Borehole Images in Argentina Despite Significant Challenges
Baker Atlas has completed a successful formation imaging job in Argentina. The low-formation resistivity and the use of heavy oil-based mud presented significant challenges to the acquisition of
EARTH Imager(SM) and
CBIL(SM) images. Additionally, the high deviation of the openhole interval and its pressure overbalance presented a significant risk of the tool string not reaching TD or becoming differentially stuck. A Deployment Risk Management assessment, conducted prior to logging the well, resulted in the inclusion of roller subs, a hydraulic jar and a set of knuckle joints to help negotiate the curvature of the well. The 141-ft GR(SM)-ORIT(SM)-EI-DCBIL(SM) tool string was successfully conveyed in and out of the hole and acquired quality images without any incidents. The imaging data interpretation allowed the customer to define the structure and characterize the producing reservoir fracture systems accurately.
 Centrilift Providing ESPs to Handle Aggressive Conditions in a Russian Field
Centrilift is providing 100
electrical submersible pumping (ESP) systems with flow rates up to 30,000 bpd for a field in Russia. The majority of the ESP systems will include the Centurion™ SSD abrasion resistant pump design, the MVP gas handling pump design and the GM series gas separator for extreme gas handling applications. Special corrosion resistant solutions will be incorporated in the ESP systems for wells with aggressive conditions. The SXD Centurion pump design was specified for the ESP systems in wells with flow rates of 20,000 bpd for maximum protection and flexible operating range.
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Hughes at Technical Conferences
KIOGE
15th Kazakhstan International Oil & Gas Exhibition and
Conference
October 2 - 5
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Pennwell Deep Offshore Technology
October 10 - 12
Stavanger, Norway
Kuwait International Oil & Gas
Exhibition
October 22 - 25
Safat, Kuwait
AOG 2007 – Argentina
October 22 - 25
Buenos Aires, Argentina
LAGCOE 2007
October 23 - 25
Lafayette, LA
APOGCE
SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference & Exhibition
October 30 - November 1
Jakarta, Indonesia
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