Published on 20 June 2019
Saltel Annular Zonal Isolation Packer isolates unwanted annular section
Saltel Annular Zonal Isolation Packer isolated unwanted annular section in the well due to off-bottom casing, allowing producing in the shale through targeted casing point at TD.
Context
The well was the first deviated producer well from a 3-well tiller. It aimed to increase production rates and to counteract the natural decline of the field and at the same time obtaining up-to-date data that would allow evaluating development options for the future. Calculations on the recoverable reserves expected from this well gave 0.541 MMBP, with an initial production of 220 BPPD and a water cut of 20%.
During the Drilling phase, the client encountered difficulties in running-in-hole the intermediate casing and was not able to reach the expected casing point. After discussions and evaluating different options, they decided to cement the casing at this depth (8,860 ft), 1,400 ft off-bottom from Casing Point.
The Solution was to run the Annular Zonal Isolation Packer (AZIP) along with 6-5/8in Facsrite Screens and a Liner Hanger BHA, set the liner Hanger in the 9-5/8in Casing, and Set the AZIP in the Open hole to act as a barrier isolating the zone the client couldn’t cover with the casing.
Solution
The Annular Zonal Isolation Packer was used to isolate a Shale zone. The client could not cover this zone with cemented casing during drilling in the intermediate phase, this due to difficulties during RIH to reach Casing Point. With Saltel Xpandable AZIP, the client was able to complete and save the well, reducing rig time, and minimizing NPT. The client ran the Steel Packer along with a Liner Hanger System from the competition.
Given the Well geometry, the RIH of this Completion BHA presented a challenge, being an 82deg deviation well with almost 1,500 ft of uncovered reactive shale. During the operation the Completion BHA (AZIP included) was submitted to excessive Slack-off loads and high circulation rates, to be able to reach True Depth, demonstrating the Annular Zonal Isolation Packer robustness and its ability to pass through tight spots.
