"WorldOil": Offshore Technology Report
Close-tolerance liner drilling for deepwater applications. A joint company effort involving ConnocoPhilips, Baker Hughes and Tesco has been studying and testing new tools and techniques for making a patented Close-Tolerance Liner Drilling (CTLD) system practical for improving the drilling and completion of deepwater wells. Results of development and evaluation through lab studies and onshore well testing to date is discussed and illustrated.
Deep gas on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. uses examples from GOM shelf projects to discuss the potential and challenge of the MMS’ royalty relief program to promote deep gas recovery from the already well-drilled shallow water Shelf area. Maximum depths in such projects are pushing 25,000 ft, from 15,000 to 17,000-ft depths of 10 years ago, and commercial sands are being found.
Oil Country Tubular Goods
Advanced drillstring inspection improves pipe rating and therefore, deepwater drilling performance. Drilling deep wells in deep water with standard rig inventory was not possible using existing drillstring inspection and rating. BP explains how applying advanced Ultrasonic Inspection and detailed pipe-wall mapping from Technical Industries proved the drillstring to a higher standard, contributing to a successful drilling campaign.
Supply chain logistics management. Managing tubular supply -- including casing and tubing - is a logistical headache for oil companies. It is also crucial for efficient use of equipment and manpower. The last things that an operator wants are people and rigs waiting on pipe. But it happens all too often. In a non-technical management article, Tenaris describes how it is managing the total logistic and supply of tubulars for major field operations including clients Kerr McGee and ConocoPhilips.
Building on last year’s successful 10-pag compilation of expandable technology World Oil provides an update of what is new in expandable technology from the major service providers, plus a status report on the dream of the monobore.
Acceptance of composite tubulars is growing in the oil and gas industry. In light of increasingly widespread application and a new draft standard, wide-ranging applications for the materials abound: from pipe work and pipelines to caissons, pressure vessels and storage tanks; from external and internal corrosion or damage to up-rating for loads or pressure; or through-wall defects repair to strengthening of embrittled duplex. Uses such as these are described through actual field examples, including clients Shell Expro, Statoil, Amerada Hess and others. Authored by FD Alliance, an alliance between Furmanite Int’l and DML Composites. Furmanite is an international organization headquartered in Dallas. DML Composites is part of the DML Group, majority-owned by Halliburton KBR, as well as Weir Group and Balfour Beatty.
--WorlOil, May 2004
