18

MAY 2002

TTechno logy echno logy App l icat ionsAppl icat ionsDennis Denney, Technology Editor

Expandable Casing Tie-Back—Expandable tubular technology is atthe forefront of well-design engineer-ing. A new technique has been devel-oped and tested by Read Well Servicesin partnership with Oil States MCSInc. One application of the techniqueachieves reconnection to severedtubulars downhole, with no reductionin original inside diameter (ID).Onshore trials have tested a 95/8-in.connection under 800 tons compres-sion and 11,000 psi pressure. Thesolution was developed for a specificcasing-tieback problem. The uppersection of 97/8-in. casing had to bereplaced. This system was developedfor use in the event that the casingcould not be backed off and requiredbeing cut. The system is also beingstudied for development of a hydrauli-cally expandable casing patchdeployed on drillpipe or coiled tubing.The downhole tool is based on the OilStates’ Hydra-Lok swaging tool. Themethod provides a pressure-tightmetal-to-metal seal, mechanicalstrength, and minimal loss in ID forremedial intervention. As shown inFig. 1, the plan was to run 121/4-in.casing with the swage overshot andengage over the cut 97/8-in. casing.

Run on drillpipe with a multifingercaliper below it, the tool is positionedat the overshot. The seals on the toolare set, and water is pumped betweenthe seals and the internal surface of the97/8-in. casing and pressured to 30,000psi. As the hydraulic pressure increas-es, the casing is permanently expand-ed into the internal profile of the over-shot, achieving a mechanical and pres-sure-tight joint. After tool retrieval, theresulting joint has comparablemechanical integrity to the originalcasing and makes no reduction in ID.

Automated Wellhead DataCapture—Ferguson Beauregard’sWalk-Up SCADA data capture capabil-ity enables its AutoCycle Plus produc-tion automation system to provide anintegrated solution to capture manual-ly entered and telemetry transmitteddata from field monitoring devices.Data include wellhead pressures andtemperatures, equipment status, andgas-flow measurement. The produc-tion automation system comprisesintelligent wellhead controllers,client/server supervisory control anddata acquisition (SCADA) softwaredesigned for oil/gas operations, andvarious forms of telecommunication

to acquire field data remotely (teleme-try). The system provides the capabili-ty to view and manage field produc-tion remotely. With the walk-up fea-ture, operators can gather nonteleme-try data from the field and integrate itwith the production automation sys-tem. Total data capture is enabled forpaperless data flow from the wellheadto the corporate office or beyond byuse of the Internet. For field opera-tions, the user “goes mobile,” with thehost computer synchronizing the mostrecent data for a group of wells definedfor the mobile device. When the oper-ator returns to the field office, down-loaded data are automatically synchro-nized with the host computer, updat-ing the system database with currentwellhead and field information.

Drilling With Shot—ProDrill ServicesInc. has developed a drilling tech-nique that increases the rate of pene-tration and extends bit life. Field testsat the Rocky Mountain OilfieldTesting Center have demonstrated theprocess under different downholeconditions (Fig. 2). The process adds5/32-in. steel shot at a concentration ofless than 1% to the drilling mudthrough the surface equipment. The

Fig. 1—Read Well Services Hydra-Lok swage casing tie-back system.