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57 views2 pages

Sur Solidrill Ep Article

dsf dsfg hfdgjdghmghm

Uploaded by

xo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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AS SEEN IN

OCTOBER 2016

New wellhead design


speeds up operations
Solution rises to challenge of debris resistance.
Johnson Koa Choon Seng, Sebastien Bories,
Kok Yen Hau, Dave Brown, Olivier Frelat and
Jason Busch, Cameron, a Schlumberger company

emoving debris from the wellbore has been an industry goal for years. But now eliminating the opportunity for debris to build up or become stuck inside the
wellhead is taking on a higher priority because drilling
debris is not just a production and HSE risk; it is a financial risk. Drilling debris significantly impairs drilling,
delays production and is a major cost to operations.
Drilling managers are seeking to keep the wellhead
clean and are searching for protection against remnants
of drilling fluid and other debris such as metal shavings
or cement plug. The problem begins with debris being
deposited at the same time the hanger is landed. As
cement returns through the riser, debris or shards can

be deposited in the profile of the wellhead and on its


load shoulders. Debris also can scratch the elastomer
seal elements passing through it, causing well control
issues. Packoffs, wear bushings and BOP testers also are
subject to the effects of debris.
Periodic removal of debris is needed and often is
not completed to speed up drilling operations. As cuttings are circulated back to the surface, they meet with
increasing hole diameters as they move from inside the
casing into the wellhead. This slows the velocity of the
cuttings, causing them to settle in exactly the place that
causes the most issues.

Reality of risk, cost of status quo


Whether drilling a complex well on land or offshore,
remnants of drill fluid or other debris can interfere with
the proper installation and performance of wellhead
systems, leading to costly remedial operations. In fact, based on operator feedback,
it is estimated that installation issues due
to debris occur a significant amount of the
time and could lead to several millions of
dollars in nonproductive time (NPT). NPT
costs could be double for new wells with
new crews or new rigs.
For example, an operator received a call
from the rig informing him that the christmas tree could not fully land on the tubing
hanger/compact housing. After taking measurements, the team ascertained that the
tubing hanger was locked in the housing but
tilted. The connector was modified, installed
and tested 48 hours later. While the operator praised the service company for its fast
response and great support, the installation
failure cost the operator two days of NPT.
This could have been avoided if not for
debris sitting on top of the seal assembly.

Debris, misalignment impact


FIGURE 1. A small piece of debris can cause installation problems such as the
hanger not landing properly, and the problem is magnified as attempts are made
to land successive components. (Source: Schlumberger)

These wellhead installation failures can be


traced to casing hangers not being landed
correctly, resulting in the inability to set
October 2016

EPmag.com

SURFACE
SYSTEMS

the packoff or causing


it to leak. Leaking packoffs and tubing hangers
are mainly caused by
hangers not being centralized or not being
able to fully land due to
debris on the landing
shoulders. Wells with a
shallow deviation can
add further risk to alignment and centralization.
While debris removal using tools such as
washover or cleanout
tools provides insurance
to installation, workFIGURE 2. The specially designed hanger neck protector for workover applications leaves little room for
overs and production
debris to accumulate and solidify. (Source: Schlumberger)
by reducing risks, it
requires downtime and high cost. Tool inventory must
debris and misalignment tolerance. The tubing hanger
be managed onsite, and availability is not always certain.
is installed on its own dedicated landing shoulder. This
With the use of outward biased lock rings for the
system is designed with angled shoulders to prevent
tubing hanger, debris often accumulates and solidifies
debris from accumulating; there are no flat shoulders or
behind the ring for years, preventing the rings collapse
pockets to catch dirt or metal shards. This reduces the
to free the hanger. It is sometimes necessary to machine
need to drain the stack and flush the wellhead prior to
onsite to retrieve a completion.
landing the packoff and tubing hanger. The wellhead
also has angled grooves and landing shoulders that
deflect debris away from the bore. Constructed with subTiny shard of debris, major problems
stantially more socketing (the ability to guide the casing
To put the impact of debris and misalignment into perwithin set boundaries) to hang casing, the wellhead also
spective, if each casing section of a well requires a total
reduces the risk of hanger tilt.
of 1 hr to drain the stack and flush the wellhead plus
Workovers can be simplified using the new wellhead
another 30 minutes to centralize the rig over the wellsystem, which uses an inward biased lock ring so there is
head, then a 10-well project will require 25 hours just to
little room behind the ring for debris to accumulate and
try to avoid a hanger from landing high or landing off
solidify. Once the energizing ring is released, the lock
center (tilted) in a two-stage housing. Take into account
ring can retract inward, and future workovers will be easthe high probability of one of these wells failing to
ier with its specially designed neck protector (Figure 2).
install properly, and one can add another 5 hours for a
Modular compact wellhead systems that meet
total of 30 hours of NPT for a potential per well expense
American Petroleum Institute 6A standards can be
of about $625,000 (Figure 1).
configured in two- or three-stage arrangements and
are available in 11 in. and 1358 in. They are rated for
Wellhead design minimizes trouble,
severe service conditions that include pressures up
BOP rig down
to 10,000 psi and steep kickoff well angles up to 60
Downtime is minimized with the new wellhead design
degrees kickoff at 80 m (262 ft).
through an ability to accommodate a wide range of casEquipped with a self-aligning hanger, centralizing feaing and tubing programs from a single system, which
tures and position indication, the wellhead is designed
affirms full land-out and significantly reduces the potento provide reliable wellhead installation. An optional
tial for debris to become trapped in the wellhead. Washtemporary lockdown mechanism for landing casing
out tools are not required.
hangers further facilitates the cementing process. A lock
Instead of landing the tubing hanger on top of the
ring is used to remove the potential for hanger lift
casing hanger packoff, Camerons SOLIDrill modular
during casing cementing.
compact wellhead system provides a high degree of
COPYRIGHT HART ENERGY | 1616 S. VOSS, STE. 1000, HOUSTON, TX 77057 USA | +1 713 260 6400 | FAX +1 713 840 8585

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