High-temperature downhole pumps extend PCP application

The line of HTD pumps provides solutions to high-temperature applications that previously prevented operators from using downhole PCPs. (Image courtesy of Robbins & Myers Energy Services Group)

High temperatures in wells have often prevented operators from applying progressing cavity pumps (PCPs) in downhole operations. Robbins & Myers Energy Services Group now provides a line of high-temperature downhole pumps, the Moyno HTD pumps, to withstand the complications of high-temperature situations when applying PCPs. The company's Moyno HTD350 and HTD600 high-temperature downhole pumps feature an elastomeric stator that is mechanically secured to the stator tube as well as an all-metallic stator that enables resistance to chemicals and the ability to handle high temperatures. Because of their capabilities of withstanding high downhole temperatures, these pumps are able to extend the application range of PCPs. The HTD350 technology is designed to mechanically secure the stator elastomer without using bonding agents between the elastomer and the stator tube. The Moyno HTD600 is an all-metallic stator that is compatible with steam injection applications without having to remove the stator from the well. The Moyno HTD series are available in a variety of models to suit a range of applications.

Connection tool facilitates rigid assemblies

Peak Well Systems' 90 Degree Safe Connect tool uses a pivoting design to enable extended-length rigid assemblies to be safely and securely raised or lowered between horizontal and vertical positions during deployment into the well and removal from a well. This can prevent undue stress and bending that causes damage to wire and tool components and potential harm to personnel should the wire or tool component fail, according to the company.

The tool is connected directly above the long assembly in the horizontal position and provides a hinge or pivot when being raised into the vertical position. Once the item is in a vertical position, an internal latch automatically locks the connection. This produces a rigid tool that can sustain both upward and downward jarring during any setting or pulling process. The latch can then be locked into the release position using an integral J-slot mechanism to revert the connection into pivot mode.

Repair system seals damage on outer sheath of flexible risers

According to Flexlife, about 35% of risers may contain damage to the outer sheath, which increases the risk of corrosion from the surrounding oxygenated seawater. Instead of replacing the sheath, the company suggests the use of its Armadillo technology. This repair system is designed to create a seal that will prevent seawater entering the riser's annulus. The system is constructed in bespoke lengths and diameters, allowing continuous operation of the flexible pipe. In an offshore operational demonstration in Brazil, the technology was applied on a gas-lift riser in a semisubmersible production platform. It was installed at a 4-m (13-ft) water depth and endured a pressure test of 2.5 bar in the annulus. According to the company, the pressure test proved the integrity of the repair, confirming the technology's capabilities.

Flexlife engineers handle Armadillo technology in Flexlife’s Aberdeen R&D facilities. (Image courtesy of Flexlife)

Shale technology increases reservoir contact

Baker Hughes' FracPoint MP sleeve with DirectConnect offers more controlled hydraulic fracture initiation points and improves connectivity to the pay zone, allowing increased contact with the reservoir. The technology does this by using openhole packers to isolate multiple stages and ball-activated sleeves to divert the fracturing treatment into the formation. A single ball opens five sleeves per stage, each sleeve including eight DirectConnect ports that are placed 45° apart.

At each stage in the hydraulic fracturing process, a ball is dropped. The sleeves open, and hydraulic pressure pushes the telescoping DirectConnect ports into the formation at high velocity. According to the company, the

ports act like chisels to initiate fractures at controlled points along the wellbore, resulting in an accurate placement of the hydraulic fracture treatment and a better connectivity to the reservoir. Operators are able to fracture through five sleeves per stage with as many as 17 stages per well, connecting with the reservoir through as many as 85 sleeves and 680 ports, said the company.

Drilling fluid remains stable to ensure quality reservoir characterization

The ultra-high temperature non-aqueous drilling fluid system is the first drilling fluid proven to deliver stable rheological performance at bottom-hole temperatures approaching 260°C (500°F), according to the company. (Image courtesy of MI-SWACO)

The new RHADIANT ultra-high temperature non-aqueous drilling fluid system from MI-SWACO, a Schlumberger company, eliminates drilling fluid product degradation, prevents wellbore control issues, and provides a thin filter cake for enhanced logging conditions. Unlike conventional non-aqueous drilling fluids, the system prevents barite sag and stuck pipe, according to the company. The drilling fluid system maintains a stable rheological profile and extreme temperature stability during prolonged static conditions throughout well construction and openhole logging, with little maintenance necessary. Ultra-thin and slick filter cake deposits and the stable rheologies clear the path for logging, casing, and cementing operations, thus enabling accurate perforation placement, optimized completions, and quality reservoir characterization, according to the company.

The technology was used in an ultra-high temperature exploration well in the Gulf of Thailand, where, with zero lost circulation, it effectively delivered filtration control and filter cake quality with stable rheological properties. Even though the fluid remained static for more than 90 hours, the customer was able to perform seven openhole wireline logging runs when using the drilling fluid system.

Monitoring system measures microseismic events during hydraulic fracturing

ESG Solutions' Hybrid Downhole/Near-surface microseismic monitoring system addresses recent concerns surrounding the potential of oil and gas operations to induce larger magnitude events. According to the company, this technology fills a need to accurately detect seismicity greater than M0 in addition to small-scale microseismic activity. It deploys near-surface or shallow buried micro-seismic arrays. Geophones, the conventional tool used to measure "micro-earthquakes," may not be optimized like the company's new microseismic monitoring system to record the lower frequency signals, some in the range of - M4 to M0, or to record the larger frequency signals, some in the range of M0 to M4. The hybrid tool combines its near-surface microseismic arrays with a network of vertical downhole tool strings to increase the physical field of coverage and more accurately measure the events of larger magnitude.

Integrated reservoir engineering software suite improves decision-making

The Roxar Tempest 7.0 by Emerson Process Management provides a single consistent interface to E&P reservoir engineers, encompassing five modules that can be deployed as an integrated unit with a common interface or individually to enhance existing workflows. This version builds on the previous versions of the company's simulation and history matching software. The modules include:

• The Tempest VIEW, capable of processing results from multiple simulations with millions of cells and thousands of wells;
• The Tempest ENABLE, a history matching and uncertainty estimation software solution that harnesses the simulator to drive it through hundreds of realizations and to steer it to deliver better quality history matches and more reliable uncertainty estimates;
• The Tempest MORE, a full physics simulator that can be optimized for very large models;
• The Tempest PVTx, an equation-of-state pressure-volume-temperature analysis tool, which facilitates the characterization of black oil or compositional fluids; and
• The Tempest VENTURE, an economic evaluation tool, which provides cash flow analysis derived from simulation results to allow the incorporation of inflation rates, prices, currencies, costs, taxes, and other variables.

This software is for use on all types of reservoirs and geologies. According to the company, it is ideal for unconventional and EOR studies such as COinjection, coalbed methane, steam-assisted gravity drainage, and shale gas fields.