Slot recovery made easy

Slot recovery is a process of repurposing an offshore platform’s plugged or non-producing well slots to sidetrack existing wells and access untapped reserves.

With the right technologies and techniques, slot recovery operations bring new life to mature fields by:

• Increasing hydrocarbon recovery and maximizing production from declining assets
• Extending field life more cost-effectively than drilling new wells
• Improving field economics by using existing well infrastructure

Without the right application knowledge and technology, slot recovery operations can be costly, complicated, and time-consuming.

Baker Hughes brings decades of application expertise and specialized technologies to develop versatile, efficient slot recovery solutions that address the unique demands of every well.

Our adaptive approach to slot recovery adjusts to unexpected well conditions and minimizes non-productive time through a systematic process of:

• Assessing well integrity in less time and fewer downhole deployments
• Removing casing strings with less rig time
• Re-entering the well with a safe, efficiently executed sidetrack

Our casing integrity and cement mapping (CICM) services collect casing and cement integrity measurements in real time, and at any time pipe is run in the well. The industry’s only cased-hole, pipe-conveyed ultrasonic system, CICM services avoid the time and expense of a dedicated logging run.

CICM’s wealth of data helps optimize slot recovery operations by providing insights on the reusability of casing above the kickoff point, the location of casing collars and stabilizers, real-time well barrier verification, and proper whipstock orientation.

Baker Hughes offers advanced milling, cutting, and pulling tools that minimize the time and risk of casing string removal.

Our AMT™ section mill and the HEAVY METAL™ swarf-free section milling service perform a range of milling operations with unsurpassed efficiency and quality, all while lowering the costs and safety risks of swarf handling at the surface by keeping more of the swarf downhole.

Our Perseus™ pump-through cutter effectively cuts or mills casing made of even the strongest steel. The Perseus can be combined with other tools to conduct multiple operations in a single trip, streamlining rig time and tool handling. The tool’s improved swarf handling and efficient knife replacement on the rig assure safer field operations and lower overall health, safety, and environmental (HSE) exposure. 

To minimize the risk and time of your pulling operations, our MASTODON™ hydraulic pulling tool effectively pulls liners, retrievable packers, or other equipment from a cased wellbore. And with flexible deployment options for a range of downhole conditions, the MASTODON tool can perform consecutive pulls in a single trip, saving time and allowing a more seamless shift to drilling the sidetrack.

The X-treme™ Windowmaster™ whipstock system delivers faster and cleaner sidetracks than conventional methods.   The X-treme Windowmaster trips in hole quickly and sets in the most stubborn casings at any depth, either hydraulically or annularly, without the need for additional tools. Once set, the system mills a clean casing exit window, avoiding the need for a dedicated reaming or polishing trip.

Proven in wells around the world, the X-treme Windowmaster lets operators sidetrack up to three times faster and cut rig time in half compared to other sidetrack systems—while eliminating the costs and time of a cleanout run.

Baker Hughes has executed successful slot recovery operations in the most remote and complex offshore wells for decades. With the right expertise and technologies, we go beyond solving challenges to anticipating them. With our adaptive execution approach, we deliver safe, reliable, and cost-effective recovery outcomes that enable operators to capture the full production value of their existing assets.